Keevan and Annora: Forged in the Desert Heat
by JeffC FTW
Summary: A Starfleet admiral's niece should not harbor any feelings for an enemy Vorta, but she has never cared about the rules - and neither has he. Second in the Vorta Brides Trilogy.
1. Prologue: The Story of a Lifetime

**Having finished "Weyoun and Mia: His Enemy's Daughter", now comes the second in the Vorta Brides Trilogy. :D The irresistible Vorta this time is Keevan, portrayed by the amazing Christopher Shea, from season 6 and sadly only appeared in episode 2 "Rocks and Shoals" and episode 10 "The Magnificent Ferengi", the latter in which he met an unsatisfactory end. Hilarious, but unsatisfactory. There was something about Keevan that struck me as arrogant and emotionless yet sexy - but perhaps, like Weyoun, he harbors more than anyone else knew, including the woman I created for him, whom we introduced at the end of the last story. And for those of you who haven't read "Weyoun and Mia: His Enemy's Daughter", I HIGHLY recommend that first before anyone reads this to avoid confusion.**

 **This second tale is named after yet another Harlequin romance novel of the same name, by Maisey Yates. Annora O'Neal is the newest leading lady, a childhood friend of Mia Sisko and the niece of a recurring guest from the show. She is a young Starfleet journalist keeping in touch with what's going on during the war, and a bit of a renegade when it comes to following orders - but then she'll find more than she bargained for when she meets Keevan. As it goes in the trilogy: loving a Vorta might be the best kind ever, but it is NEVER easy business.**

 **Disclaimer: I own only Annora and Mia from the first story, and a couple other characters. The rest belong to Star Trek and Paramount.**

Prologue

The Story of a Lifetime

Having dedicated her whole life to adventure and stories to write and share to those around her, Annora Ross was stationed from Earth to Starbase 375 not long after becoming a journalist and published author. She was born in New Orleans and lived there her whole life until she was accepted into Starfleet Academy, where she met her future husband, Jeffrey O'Neal, aspiring to become a Federation science officer.

Annora was an only child, the daughter of Dr. Eleanor Ross and the distant Starfleet officer James Ross; other relatives were William Ross, her father's younger brother. Never one with massive ambitions, the young girl from New Orleans was often pressurized by her parents to become like what they were, or anything that she wasn't - even when she rebelled when she knew it was the right thing to do, she was severely punished for it. No matter the level of the gravity of the crime, their daughter had to be taught in the lessons of discipline. As she emerged into womanhood, Annora Ross came to despise none more than her own parents, not once contacting them upon acceptance into Starfleet Academy, where she had a very small direction towards her own destiny.

Before getting into Starfleet, she had an awkward social life because she was the girl who always wanted to read a book or write a story as a hobby instead of engaging into the gossip and shopping activities other girls her age would, but upon meeting Amelia "Mia" Delgado when both girls were nine, a few years following the family relocating from Puerto Rico and before the death of the mother, the two became fast friends and inseparable. Just like Annora, Mia had high intellect and a knack for fun - parties which wasn't on Annora's agenda until she was first brought out to the dancefloor at the start of high school - although she, too, lacked a direction for her own life in the future.

In terms of following the rules, both girls knew their times to break them to do what they knew was right, but unlike Mia who knew her limits, Annora was the more brash of the two. As a result, besides both her parents, her relationship with the Sisko family - the neighbors and friends of Mia's family - was the opposite of good due to her rebellious nature, and would remain so into adulthood. She wasn't called a bad influence by any means, but for some reason, Benjamin Sisko never trusted her as much as he did the young girl who later became his adopted daughter.

Starfleet Academy in San Francisco - which happened to be where Benjamin Sisko attended - accepted both Annora and Mia, but Mia unfortunately wasn't lucky to last long after losing her father in the battle against the Borg. Her meltdown forced her to leave the academy and join the Sisko family, therefore leaving Annora without her one true friend. Nevertheless, during her first year and remarkably so, she stayed and continued with what she loved doing: writing stories, until one day she was approached by one of her instructors and offered a scholarship if she agreed to publish her stories and news reports. Enthusiastic and honored, Annora submitted her first collection of shorts and then accepted an assignment on the aftermath of the destruction of the _USS Saratoga_ and the defeat of the Borg.

Despite still being in school, Annora Ross, niece of Captain William Ross, became a published novelist and journalist.

During her second year, she met Jeffrey O'Neal, her eventual husband who was studying for a position as science officer. She had long ago given up the idea of love at first sight, but Jeffrey was her first boyfriend she ever had and understood her better than anyone. In terms of realism, the one who became the one you searched for to spend the rest of your life with was the one right in front of you and not the one you fantasized since you were a young one. Therefore, Annora and Jeffrey were married by the following year, her uncle attending as well as some of their fellow students and professors, without a fear of future consequences - an action she would regret later on in her life.

Two years later, Annora and her husband graduated and were stationed on Starbase 375 in the Alpha Quadrant which was where her uncle, now appointed admiral and head of Starfleet forces, was also stationed. Jeffrey O'Neal was science officer under Admiral Ross, being appointed as the youngest Lt. Commander on the record. He was a fine officer of Starfleet, but in terms of his marriage, their passion was beginning to cool because Annora's own career had her traveling off-planet to other worlds in all four quadrants of the Milky Way for the "story of a lifetime".

But by the time the Dominion-Cardassian alliance sent the Federation presence into retreat and thus began the Dominion War, her traveling was at its limits when the death counts and destructions of fleets began to rise - and she would get her reports and ratings, indeed.

Horrified by the amounting catastrophes, Annora delivered the word while longing to pick up a phaser and fight against the enemy despite not being an enlisted officer - but she did possess prowess from training in combat and Klingon arts. Annora O'Neal might be a journalist and passionate careerist - and the wife of a Federation officer as well as the niece of one - but her fear and concern for the galaxy she had grown to love was ever greater, and despite her limitations she often refused to acknowledge, she was determined to help the Federation she belonged to win the war, even if it meant overcoming old differences and breaking more rules than ever.

 **So, Annora Ross-O'Neal is very much like her childhood friend from the first story, but while she has a heart and fierce courage like Mia, she's more of a boundary breaker to get anything done. That will be one of the reasons why Keevan is attracted to her, because he's one himself. ;) And her husband is sort of named after Jeffrey Combs, who plays the other Vorta we love, Weyoun.**


	2. Time to Stand

**I'm not mean or anything, but if anyone wants to criticize Annora in any way, be my guest. But just know she's a reporter and is only doing her job; it's also her personality.**

 **The beginning of this chapter takes place before the events of the actual episode, as well as before the three months that pass by, and Mia from the first story going through what's happening during the occupation of Deep Space 9 - or Terok Nor, as it's called now. Then we progress into the actual events of "A Time to Stand".**

Chapter One

Time to Stand

She was rarely needed except whenever duty called to interview or to sneak out and scavenge for the "hell of a bonus section", as she liked to call it. And that also meant risk of talking down and the possibility of the interview called off by the interviewee, but she was a reporter; it was her job to gather the facts. Annora was always without flaws when it came to her reports, but not with her being. She was flawed in every step of the way, not that she wasn't aware of it.

Growing up, she never cared what anyone else thought of her, but that didn't mean she didn't want to be on someone's good side. However, it hurt to get criticized when you least expected it; Mia knew what that was like herself since they were children. Now her best friend was still far away, still on that god-awful station where the Dominion and Cardassian presence lived now, and her adoptive father and his crew, and their Klingon allies, had come here after escaping their Jem'Hadar pursuers. She considered talking to them and getting the news out, details of the fight they put up before getting away with only some damage done, but her uncle insisted she wait for a couple days until Sisko and his crew settled in.

"They lost their station to the enemy," he'd said firmly, "so I would wait if I were you, Annora. And besides..." His eyes were on her knowingly. "...Benjamin wouldn't be so happy to see you, don't you think?"

She'd sighed and agreed unwillingly. Of course Captain Sisko wouldn't be happy to see her; she'd caused him trouble in teenage years, and that wasn't something easy to forget. "I wish we could just put the past aside, Uncle Bill. Didn't you say so yourself that the past is not something we can change, but we can always change the future?"

William Ross had looked at her for a moment before the slightest smile formed on his face. "Yeah, you're right. But still, give them time to breathe and let me speak to him for you. Besides, he'll be with me for the time being until we ever find the right strategy to win this war."

Jeffrey was still in the main operations room of the base when she returned to their shared quarters to just do something and pass the time; she put to mind _The Friendship of Mortals_ by Audrey Driscoll from the early twenty-first century, but before she could grab that PADD, her eyes fell to the picture of herself and Jeffrey from their wedding day almost five years ago. Her hair was braided behind her head and her dress had been elegant and flowy white chiffon with demure illusion beading and elbow sleeves, and Jeffrey was handsome in his tux. They'd been young then and impatient...but now that they had lives while sharing one together, now Annora wondered what would happen now, now that there was a war going on.

She lowered her head and reached up to place her hand on the shelf, but when she did, she found herself glimpsing at her wedding ring. It was a rose-gold halo of diamonds framed with two wheels; sometimes she considered taking it off because now she saw it as nothing more than a ring, because she and Jeffrey hadn't had what you would call a good marriage. But how could she have said no at the time? She had been afraid of dying alone, so maybe that was why she wanted to get married to begin with. And besides, what man would put up with her the way Jeffrey did?

Her marriage, at the present, was the least of her concerns at the present time. She, Uncle William, and the rest of the crew had just gotten back word that there was a small Federation-Klingon fleet coming through space, though in a wreck, and that was a sign nothing was going well for Starfleet during this war. Nothing had been going well for them in the last three months, and every time she delivered the bad news herself to the Federation News Service for them to put out for the rest of the universe to see and hear, she found herself in tears when no one was looking. Crying in Jeffrey's arms every time helped a little, because he was just as devastated as she was.

Now she decided to visit her uncle in his office since Sisko and his crew hadn't returned yet. "Annora!" He managed the best smile he could in spite of recent events. "This is a surprise visit."

"Surprises all the time, but none of them good," she said somberly, walking around the desk and sitting in his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. Despite him not being in her life most of the time along with her father, he was the only one in the family she ever got along with if not her parents. "Any word from the Seventh Fleet?"

William shook his head and looked down at the series of PADD reports on his desk. "Nothing at all. I sent them to the Tyra system to keep the Dominion further away. A hundred and twelve vessels ought to be enough to prevent them from completely overtaking a part of our territory." He was confident in this, and she hoped so, too. But there were incoming Dominion and Cardassian vessels every day. Cardassia _was_ in the Alpha Quadrant after all, and they were allied with the Dominion - which made it more of a trouble every day for the Federation against them.

Then his comm badge sounded. _"Admiral Ross?"_

"Go ahead."

 _"The USS Defiant has just returned, sir."_

Those Jem'Hadar ships still had no luck with catching up to the _Defiant,_ which meant they had to have called off their search. Captain Sisko and his crew were still alive and unharmed. "I guess I ought to do my job," she told her uncle before jumping up and ignoring his warning.

Annora remembered the first day she ran into Captain Sisko after a long time of separation, and he was wary of her as ever and the least bit surprised that she hadn't changed at all. And the rest of his crew had to follow along, with the exception of Dr. Bashir, Ensign Nog - a Ferengi boy, which surprised her greatly - the Cardassian tailor Elim Garak, as well as Lt. Jadzia Dax. So, perhaps the entire crew liked her somehow despite her attempts to get a story out of them.

"I see you made it back alive," Annora said to the captain upon his return, followed by Dax close behind him. The Trill smiled at her solemnly, but Sisko was more grim than she was.

"We did; those Jem'Hadar had finally decided we weren't important." He scoffed and shook his head as he made way for the conference room. "We're all exhausted from running away, and we ought to get back out and fight, but there is more bloodshed every day. And don't think about getting this on PADD yet," he warned her as he looked her down, assuming her job detail.

Annora lifted her chin up and returned the look. He didn't intimidate her as a teenager and he wouldn't now. "I wouldn't dream of it, Captain, but you and I both know there has to be more word out there every day."

"Annora, no offense," Dax said gently, "but more news of the rising losses of Federation and Klingon ships each day adds more hopelessness to those caught in the middle."

"I'm only doing my job, Lieutenant," Annora insisted as the doors whooshed open so all three of them went inside. She could use a raktajino herself. "I'm as devastated by those deaths as you are - as well as worried sick for your son," she added when she glared up at Benjamin Sisko, "and my best friend on that station."

From what she learned, Jake Sisko had recently become a reporter and chose to stay behind to report on the occupation, but she had not heard any of his stories since his first which regarded the negotiations between Bajor and the Dominion non-aggression pact. The Dominion representative must be blocking his transmissions and preventing Jake's stories from being read; she hated that Vorta then, as a result. Him and his allies, and Founder superiors. All the Vorta were scum like the Jem'Hadar fighting machines they commanded.

"Believe me, Annora," Benjamin said softly, "I wish there was something I could do to get them both to safety, and I'd love nothing better. You and Mia have known each other your whole lives, so don't assume the worst. And I'll worry about my own son." There was a faraway look in his eyes when he mentioned Jake, then turned away for the replicator and ordered a raktajino while the Trill changed the subject.

"Benjamin, where do you think Starfleet will be sending us next?" She looked over at Annora, assuming she might have a hidden agenda of getting this down for herself, but the latter quickly shook her head no. Of course Annora wasn't some sneaky reporter she was thought to be. She might break the rules to get the facts, but it wasn't at ANY random time such as now.

"I really don't know," he answered, "but if I have anything to say about the matter, we'll be going back to the frontlines." Annora stood up then, ignoring their clinks of the mugs together as a toast, ordering her coffee and returning to the long table. Jeffrey was never one for raktajino, especially not at a time like this.

She looked up when the door whooshed open once more. "Well said, Captain," praised General Martok, the Klingon forces commander. "And my ship will be at your side." He was holding his left arm as though inspecting it when it didn't appear to be injured. From behind him, Lt. Commander Worf - Jadzia's fiancée - strolled in scowling as ever but cracked a _slight_ smile when his bride-to-be shrieked happily and jumped into his arms, kissing him in the way Annora used to do to Jeffrey so long ago. That was engagement-wedded bliss which faded as quickly as it came.

Seeing the Trill and Klingon together made her almost giggle, though internally, Dax deserved better than the always-frowning warrior whose arms she was in. Klingons were overbearing, domineering and blunt in both violence and conversation, but they were so in love. She wondered if it would have been different for her if she'd married a humanoid or alien instead of a human, but love wasn't based on different species coming together. She was still young and didn't know what true love was other than in the stories.

"Well, tell her," Martok said, breaking off the happy reunion.

Dax frowned. "Tell me what?" Her eyes darted back and forth between her fiancée and the general, but Worf shook his head and tried to put it off, but Martok wasn't eager to let it wait. Worf resigned and set her down; Benjamin and Annora both exchanged a look with each other, wondering what it was that was "weighing heavily on his mind", as Martok grumbled.

"It is about our wedding."

"You're getting cold feet?" Jadzia teased, but Worf was serious.

"You've scheduled the ritual sacrifice of the _targ_ to occur _after_ the wedding feast has been served."

On the Klingon homeworld Qo'noS, a _targ_ was a vicious herding beast in the form of a boar on planet Earth, and in Klingon wedding tradition, sacrificing one was considered a symbol of "taking the heart" - and the actual act was followed; the heart itself was eaten along with the rest of the meat. A Trill was far too soft for something so barbaric as that; no wonder it bothered both Worf and the general. Annora knew a lot she could about Klingon culture, and if she ever thought about it before Jeffrey, marrying one was the last thing on her agenda.

Benjamin, however, was fighting to keep himself from laughing at the two species' differences over one traditional element of one of them, and the fact that Dax might get sick at the blood shed, but Curzon - the host before Jadzia - had fought alongside the Klingons and was their ambassador a long time before his death.

"We haven't seen each other for five weeks," Jadzia said, slightly aback, "and THAT is the first thing you say to me?!"

"We _agreed_ it would be a traditional ceremony."

Or perhaps it was _he_ who was doing it all? Annora knew this because Dax relented and told him to have it his way. "First, we'll shed blood and then we'll feast," she told Worf with an assuring smile and leaned up to kiss him. As it should be, Annora thought sarcastically, taking another sip of raktajino; she loved hers both creamy and sweet like you'd find on Earth. Mia did, as well. She looked up when Martok grumbled again.

"He's been unable to talk about anything else for _days_." Of course; she and Jeffrey had been unable to do the same when they first got married. It drove her uncle mad even though he was always laughing and smiling. And theirs had been small, which had been the best way to go, as Sisko advised his longtime science officer and oldest friend in two lifetimes. His own wedding had been so, too. But everyone got married the way they wanted, and that was what they did - and that was what Dax and Worf would, too.

Then they announced they were leaving to spend some time together. She didn't know if she was conscious or not, but she and Sisko both were thinking the same thing. "Try not to break any bones," they said at the same time. Dax grinned at them both behind Worf's back and crossed her fingers as a promise.

Now that they were gone, General Martok confirmed his injured left arm; she was not much of a doctor herself other than the basics. "I better take care of this," he said as he headed in the direction of the infirmary behind them to meet with Dr. Bashir. "Klingons make great warriors, but we are terrible doctors."

Julian Bashir gestured for him to follow, but he had bad news now. Annora felt the tremors at the latest for what her life was about - but it was worse than any of them imagined. Herself, Benjamin, Uncle Bill and the rest of the crew. "I have news of the Seventh Fleet," the doctor said gravely, his face matching his voice. "Only fourteen ships made it back to our lines."

There was a brief, tense pause before all hell broke loose.

"Fourteen?!" Martok exploded. "Out of a hundred and twelve!"

Annora could see the doctor's face contort into real anger, and now that she knew she should have expected this amount after all those times, she had to stand up. Sisko had a hand over his face as he tried to block everything out, but he couldn't just do that. Furiously, Annora slammed her mug down and stood up to be beside Bashir. "We can't keep taking these kinds of losses, not if we're expected to win this," she said angrily.

Sisko's hand dropped, showing hard eyes and a tight mouth. "Thank you, Doctor. That will be all. And that goes for you, too," he said coldly to Annora, the same way he had when she was younger and got into trouble. She huffed and stalked past him, not bothering to look past him. If there was anything she wanted to do right now - and wouldn't be surprised if Captain Sisko did behind her back and the others' - she would slam her fist on a table and break the glass. There had to be something done if this went on any longer.

~o~

The war had gone on for three months, and for the majority, the Dominion was winning so far. The enemy retreated every day, and Gul Dukat was extremely full of it when he smiled as he received the word about the increased number of Federation fleets destroyed - but the minefield was still in progress of being taken down, and that meant thousands of Dominion ships from the Gamma Quadrant still trapped in the wormhole, which the Founder wasn't pleased with in the slightest, and Weyoun was growing all the more temperament with Dukat for his slow progress.

Captain Benjamin Sisko and his crew had not been found either, but the search had been called off. There were more things to worry about than keeping the focus on one particular ship, but Keevan swore to himself that they would be found in the event of time.

He had been among to oversee that the capture and perhaps the destruction of the _USS Defiant_ was done while managing that the ketracel-white facilities had to be kept invulnerable to any Starfleet sabotage. The Jem'Hadar were always a priority to keep track of if the Founders needed them in action, and it was his responsibility to make sure it happened. But for now, he was glad to be back on Terok Nor and eager to catch up with the ambassador, his former mentor and cherished friend.

Keevan was in his second incarnation, but the memory of dying and being cloned after his predecessor was sexually violated after being captured and was forced to activate his implant was more than he could bear. He knew better than to think like this, because he would be deemed defective if he feared and hated dying, so there was no way he could confess this to anyone. And Weyoun would only remind him that serving the Founders and not himself was his only way of living until his next incarnation. He closed his mouth like the good little Vorta he was, held his head high, and schooled his face into an emotionless mask and went about his business just like that.

"Ah, Keevan! The man I was hoping to see first." Weyoun was both smiling and laughing when he marched over and accepted the younger Vorta's hand in his and then took him in for a brief embrace, both watched by their scowling Jem'Hadar. "I can't tell you how happy I am to see you again, and how fortunate to have you here."

Keevan laughed softly and shook his head. "Being here with you and our allies pleases me greatly, but it's a pity the Founder herself is stuck here amongst solids. She isn't happy about the situation."

Weyoun slapped him on the back and joined him in a walk in the direction of Gul Dukat's office. "Well, she will be back with her own people in the event of time, and we'll have our reinforcements from the wormhole if only Dukat would hurry up with taking down those mines. It has been two months, and the Founder is as impatient as I am," Weyoun seethed, clenching his jaw and keeping his arm around Keevan's shoulder. "I intend to get on Dukat if it's the last thing."

Keevan wished he had the power to do it himself, but those mines? They were self-replicating, weren't they? Self-replicating mines were far beyond the ordinary mines he aided in destroying, replicating and slipping past in his lifetime. He thought quickly of how to keep his supervisor and friend from bursting. "And you will, and if he doesn't get those mines down soon, perhaps the Founder will grant you permission to have his head."

"I wouldn't go that far." Weyoun had laughed before he became serious. "He's our key to victory, although..." He paused in a muse. "...if he fails, then I'd love nothing better. His overconfidence is his weakness. He thinks just because we gave him this station and, very soon, the whole Alpha Quadrant, he's all-powerful and the ultimate conqueror of the Federation. But once the Federation is defeated, then Earth will come under _Dominion_ rule. Not just Cardassia."

"Weyoun."

Both Vorta paused when they saw the station's first officer standing there. A former Bajoran resistance fighter whose reputation preceded her. "Why, Major, I'm surprised to see you so soon," Weyoun said cheerfully. "What can I do for you?"

Keevan gave her a smile and inclined his head. "Major Kira, I am Keevan, Field Supervisor. It is an honor."

"Another Vorta on this station," the major said coolly, making his smile switch to a thin line. He enjoyed making others unnerved, but to be offended was on the lowest level of tolerance. "But I don't have time for introductions, not even your friends, Weyoun." The ambassador's smile was gone, too, as quickly as it came, giving her the most wounded of expressions that she flinched. "I want to talk to you about Bajorans returning to the station, with or without Dukat's permission."

By the Bajorans returning to the station meant inflaming more need for security as well as to prevent the Bajoran security force - if ever reinstated - from having their own line of weapons as a mean of "caution", in Dukat's words, if Keevan were in his place. But Weyoun didn't care to take the Gul into consideration, because he was second-in-command and above that station. "That would be fantastic! Ever since your people have left, life has been rather dull without any life wandering about. The Dominion truly wants to honor the treaty by welcoming them back. I do hope we hear the children screaming with joy once they fill the Promenade..."

They were walking away now, not that Keevan cared about Weyoun bidding him a temporary farewell. But when Major Kira looked over her shoulder, she gave him a look of pure wariness and suspicion. She didn't trust him any more than she trusted Weyoun, that was for sure. Contemptuously, Keevan snorted and ordered his Jem'Hadar to follow him away. Perhaps he could only pay a visit to Quark's for the moment, enjoy a game of dabo that Weyoun had played once before and won his luck.

As soon as he entered the Ferengi's bar, he spotted one particular figure at one of the dabo tables.

This one girl was the one Weyoun always spoke so...fondly about. Her long hair over both shoulders, her garments as revealing as the others like her in the room, but while she was vibrant and full of life, she was cautious especially with the Cardassians around her - and she made clear her disgust for them and the Dominion occupying her home. Amelia Sisko, daughter of Captain Benjamin Sisko, known as Mia to all who knew her. Keevan wondered, despite all those conversations, what Weyoun saw in her if she openly loathed their people. Not that it mattered; he wanted nothing to do with that girl.

Ignoring Mia Sisko altogether, he told his men to wait for him while he marched in the opposite direction for one of the dabo tables needing one more player.

 **I know Sisko and the crew rendezvous with their Klingon allies, but I thought the actual Starbase 375 was necessary already because then it gives the opportunity to interact with Annora and her uncle, none other than Admiral Ross.**

 **Reviews are appreciated. :)**


	3. Reassignments

**I forgot to mention in the last chapter that "The Friendship of Mortals" by Audrey Driscoll is a book, first in a series, based on H.P. Lovecraft's "Herbert West - Re-Animator", in which the movie itself stars our Jeffrey Combs as the titular star.**

Chapter Two

Reassignments

Whatever it was that Admiral Ross wanted him for, Benjamin Sisko wasn't sure if it could have waited or not. He had a lot on his mind for the time being as it was. They had only fourteen vessels from the Seventh Fleet left, and if they sent any more ships out at this rate, they would continue to stand no chance against the Dominion, counting the thousands they still had in the wormhole, which was still sealed shut with the mines in place. For all he knew, Gul Dukat must be trying to deactivate them and was failing, and this was all he could manage a smile for.

Annora O'Neal hadn't bothered him again since the return, but for all he knew as well, she might be doing her job now that he was gone at talking to the others about the recent catastrophe. She had always been a little nuisance even as a child, constantly disobeying her parents as well as him and Jennifer, even breaking curfew. A normal teenager would do those things, but Annora was everything Mia wasn't in that direction.

Now that he thought of his adopted daughter who must be about three months along in her pregnancy by now, he wondered how she was faring under Quark, and what about Jake?

"It's good to see you back, Ben," Ross, Annora's uncle - and younger brother of her father - said as he led Sisko into one of the offices. The last place he considered being given they had just gotten back.

"I was lucky." Luck was a word least favored by any officer. "But we lost a lot of good people."

Ross nodded gravely. "Yes, we did," he agreed, "and we're going to lose a lot more when this is over." As much as he hated to admit it, Benjamin agreed. Death and disaster always came as a price for fighting freedom. "I hope you find this office satisfactory."

Sisko blinked; when did he start receiving an office when he should be out _there_ trying to help their people? "O-office? I wasn't aware I had an office; I thought I was here for an assignment briefing."

"I'm afraid you're going to be here a lot longer than you think, Captain," the admiral said, shaking his head. "As of now, you're no longer in command of the _Defiant._ "

He said no more, just nodded once and left him alone to his thoughts after being informed that his new "assignment" would be revealed later, little good that did. Benjamin felt like he was in a cave of discontent. He had come all this way after being on the run from Jem'Hadar and Dominion attack ships, losing dozens to hundreds of fellow Federation and Klingon vessels every day, only to be stripped of his command of the one ship he prized most, been through the worst with. Especially when there was a war going on, his children stuck on the station that was their home and run by monsters and murderers, and Joseph still not knowing about this.

Might as well tell someone about this while he had the chance. Who knew who would take care of the _Defiant_ now.

"Relieved of _command_?" Dax repeated angrily as she paced back and forth with her hands clasped behind her back. "Why?"

"Admiral Ross didn't say." It wasn't much of a reason, but it had to do, because Ross gave nothing beyond the reminder that there would be a new assignment at sixteen hundred hours.

Jadzia shook her head disgustedly. "Well, at least the crew _is_ staying together, right?"

Ben nodded. "You can count on it."

"So, what are you planning to do for the next couple of hours?"

"I haven't given it much thought."

"Or maybe now would be a good time to contact your father about the kids."

It had been months since he'd last spoken to his father, and Jake and Mia were his grandchildren - well, one was by blood, the other adopted. But how was Benjamin going to explain to him that he evacuated every citizen and Federation personnel off of Deep Space 9 _except_ his grandson and granddaughter?

~o~

Annora had been keeping tabs; her uncle had decided to place Dax in charge of the _Defiant_ while Captain Sisko had a place in the office, but he had yet to give the next assignment in another hour. Jeffrey was still busy in Ops - as ever, while she was left to wander as she wanted - so she decided to keep a low-key distance from Uncle William and others he spoke to, hoping anything would grab her attention that she could take into consideration. After the losses in the Seventh Fleet, something had to be done if Captain Sisko wasn't allowed on the field for awhile.

And if her uncle couldn't be out there himself, then she would do something about it, and it could make one hell of a story for everyone to be in awe of, perhaps praise her for her bravery to make a difference and write the story from her perspective.

Writing was never about money for her; it was passion for both herself and others. It was about making a difference. Ambition was in her blood, and she wasn't afraid to say it. But right now, she wasn't just thinking about that; she wanted to listen in on the rest of the Starfleet personnel and request a runabout from her uncle. She might get herself killed, but being in the field meant taking risks.

Right now she was at work on a romance mystery novel about how a psychologist was placed in charge of a convicted killer, and how he ruffled her feathers and played games with her because he knew he could get away with the guilt he had been acquitted of; his plea to insanity was his excuse, actually, to get with her because he saw her from far away. This was a form of complicated romance because she enjoyed the "rough love" as much as it was against the rules - but in the end, she would end up risking everything for him when he finally snapped her mind.

Rereading what she did so far, Annora heaved a sigh when she felt her cheeks heat at the female protagonist's hands bound by handcuffs as she was handled in a description she couldn't repeat aloud when Federation and Klingon officers - and others - were around her...as well as that feeling she got from reading her own work when her own husband did very little good a job at night or any time during the day. It was silly, getting off on your own fantasies when your husband should do that job for you, and when you should be listening for word on a possible opportunity.

"Admiral Ross, I found the location of a ketracel-white storage spot, as you requested."

Her head perked up when her uncle's voice as well as one of the base's cadets appoached him. "Well, glad I got what Benjamin and the others need, after all. Is this the main facility in the Alpha Quadrant?"

"Yes, but it is in Dominion territory, so there will be Jem'Hadar on guard, sir."

~o~

He had been on leave for a week, and now he was ready to get back to work. Taking his men, he marched for his assigned landing pad while thinking back to his conversation yesterday with Weyoun regarding the Sisko girl. He snorted with disgust; he had never been with a woman before, but it was through his former supervisor that he learned about the art of desire in case he ever crossed paths with one. Chances were slim because he was known to brush females away, both Vorta and non-Vorta alike. In fact, he and Eris almost pursued a relationship but never went beyond friendship.

 _"Honestly, Weyoun, the girl despises you now over her fool of a brother. He was labeling the Dominion and Cardassia as occupation; we RUN this station now, not his father and the Federation."_

 _"Of course we do, Keevan, but Mia won't speak to me now. I can't say it's because of the child that she is avoiding me now, breaking my heart, but I truly hurt her. But I can't allow Jake to get away with opposing us and not showing a fair balance. He has to learn his lesson the hard way if he wants to report on life on this station after the former occupants departed."_

 _"Then you won't mind me speaking my part in this."_

 _"That depends entirely, if I should permit it."_

 _"What do you see in that girl? The two of you claim to love, which I am unfamiliar with, yet you can't settle your differences over this matter. If she wasn't publicly declared Dukat's, then you should have taken her and shook her to her senses, take her as yours and show her nothing is escapable."_

 _"How would you know how to treat a woman, Keevan, when you yourself have never taken that training I gave you and put it to use the way I have?"_

Of course, he got the feeling of the thrill and stimulation at the memory of Weyoun's hands undressing him and caressing his body, not long after his second incarnation was activated, of course - and this was long before Weyoun went so far as to mate with Benjamin Sisko's daughter. The exhilaration of fingers and lips over every part of him without going too far to form _the_ bond was too good to resist that Weyoun even allowed him to do the same to his teacher. He even recalled the hesitation Weyoun displayed when Keevan's body began to hunger for a physical joining as he tried to get the newly promoted ambassador into bed, but then Weyoun shifted away when he spoke of another woman on his mind that the last one remembered and desired before he was killed - he only wanted to teach Keevan what it felt like, based on two or three past incarnations' single-night experiences. He longed for the one who was always on his mind but cherished Keevan as a friend and almost brother.

But ever since those three nights of instruction, Keevan was alone and left to despair when he found no one else. Weyoun had his woman after the business with Tekeny Ghemor, but Keevan hadn't been so lucky despite being happy for the other Vorta.

 _"I have not seen you this happy in a long time. You don't have to hide it from me; I know there is a female. So, are you going to tell me her name?"_

 _"If I tell you, you must swear on your life that no one else knows, but the two of us."_

 _"On my immortal life, my friend and teacher."_

 _"Her name is Mia."_

What made it even more difficult was that there was a child in the picture; how could this have happened? He never thought conception was possible, but now that he saw it was, this was Weyoun's problem to deal with, not his. He stepped onto the fighter in time to come face-to-face with none other than Third Remata'klan, the impressionable but more blunt of his men. Keevan couldn't stand him sometimes despite his obedience; he never knew his limits half the time.

"I trust you will be on your best behavior this time, Third," he warned softly, locking his eyes with the Jem'Hadar's. "I would hate to have to demote you to Fourth, if that's what you want."

"I don't need reminding," the soldier responded.

"Good." Keevan walked past him without another glance. They had a storage facility to protect, so he shouted to get the engines started and the shields raised once they reached space.

~o~

Waiting for four days, she mustered up the courage to speak to her uncle and request a runabout. His response was, not surprisingly, less than pleased and refused her on the spot. He'd ordered her confined to quarters even when she threatened to go rogue like she was known to do, that he would keep track of her if she thought she could do the job better than he, Captain Sisko or anyone else. What the hell had he been thinking, assuming she would become all-out vigilante on them? If anything, she wouldn't call herself vigilante.

 _"Annora, I know you mean well, but you can't always assume you can break every rule in the book and not expect anything to happen. Sometimes it will come back and bite you. Your mom and dad meant it, too."_

How could he bring up her parents that way? Annora angrily slammed her palm against the wall of one of the hallways near the bay. They didn't always agree, either, but she was tired of being treated like that now that this was an even bigger story she would grasp, and perhaps she would be saving the lives of Sisko and his crew whether her help was asked for or not. Wasn't that why her uncle relieved Benjamin control, for the protection of him and the crew in case the Jem'Hadar discovered them again and shot them on sight before the Federation could win the war?

It had been three days since she and Uncle William clashed, and now was the time to take action. She tried talking Jeffrey into coming with her, but since he was authorized personnel, he couldn't just take off with her and abandon his duties. That meant she would go solo. She armed herself with a phaser just to be safe, as well as her PADD, and made way for the bay.

 **Annora is played by Emma Watson in this story (Harry Potter's Hermione Granger), like Mia is portrayed by Summer Glau from "The 4400". :) Lovely, feisty, free-spirited and determined.**


	4. Deep into Space

**I believe I DO own the name of one of the Jem'Hadar - First Tirak'iklan - in this chapter, but I can't really tell. XD The names of Keevan's First and Second were never mentioned as the actual characters were never seen.**

Chapter Three

Deep into Space

The main ketracel-white storage facility was fixated right into the surface of an asteroid. Asteroid fields were dangerous enough if no one was careful with them, but to have a Jem'Hadar white storage was moreso when it was valuable for their soldiers. Why couldn't it have been built on Cardassia when the planet was now officially a part of the alliance? Keevan pursed his lips and absently drummed his fingers on the system controls panel in the middle of the bridge as he surveyed through his virtual display device which was common in every Jem'Hadar vessel instead of a viewscreen. He was unable to sit down because there were no chairs; his Jem'Hadar were never bothered by anything but deprivation of their white.

No dangerous activity detected ever since he arrived. Now six hours had passed; sometimes he got so bored he didn't know how to pass the time other than to monitor the latest shipments coming in. Just now fifty canisters were being sent out and delivered to Terok Nor, with more to come. Keevan wasn't usually so bored, unlike Yelgrun who had a higher level than he.

He looked up when Third Remata'klan interrupted his watchful eye. "Sir, we have company."

"What is it?" Keevan asked, refusing to look at him.

"Our scanners have picked up an incoming Starfleet vessel entering the area."

Now he could allow a smile to show. Things had gotten better; a lone Starfleet ship boldly entered Dominion territory. He considered ordering it shot down on sight to protect the facility, but on second thought - "How many life signs are you reading, Third?"

"Only one," Remata'klan responded.

Keevan frowned. Only one? That was strange. Did one Federation lifeform think they could come all the way out here and boldly outsmart the Jem'Hadar? This seemed too easy to just kill the unknown being so soon, and they had to have a reason for being out here alone. He wasn't going to let them get away this easily, either. "Hail the passenger, and if they refuse to state their mission, beam aboard and bring them to me."

~o~

Damn it, she was hailed! Annora hissed when the transmission system informed her of a message given Jem'Hadar ships did not possess viewscreens that she knew of. Whoever was on board the nearest one to her hailed that she state the nature of her mission, but nothing more. Simple as that, and that didn't bode well. Now she began to doubt herself, and it was too late to regret her decision now.

Nevertheless, she refused to give all the details other than the fact that she was a journalist looking to interview, but refused to give her name. She fervently hoped they left her alone - but oh, was she stupid enough to think that, because in an instant no later than she replied, two beings materialized into the cockpit. Whipping around in shock, as well as pulling out her phaser only for it to be shot out of her hand, Annora found herself facing two Jem'Hadar with phaser rifles aimed at her.

~o~

Keevan turned behind him from the console along with the others when Fourth Limara'son and the Fifth returned with the lone being - a journalist - from the Federation runabout, smiling and ready to interrogate the reporter himself - only to let it slip when he saw _who_ and _what_ he was dealing with. In between them, wrists cuffed behind and not struggling, was a young woman in a soft yellow tunic and tight black trousers, her long hair swirling and an unusual fair shade he'd ever seen, her face scowling when the eyes looked around and finally landed on him. They were soft and muddy, but so fierce and unrelenting, much like his own temperament. Keevan was impressed already even though he had yet to learn more about this fascinating creature - but what made her think she could come and invade Dominion territory so brazenly, and for what purpose? To actually conduct a story - or could that only be a cover-up for her true motive?

"Fourth, bring her to me," he commanded, standing straight and clasping his hands in front of him.

Limara'son nodded and shoved her forward; as a consequence, the woman nearly fell off her feet and straight into the Vorta's arms when he acted on impulse and caught her swiftly, helping her stand. "You idiotic fool!" he snapped, baring his teeth. "I appreciate your fondness for rough, but next time bring her over yourself." The human female finally acted on and jerked herself away from him when he realized he'd been holding her as he lectured the Fourth of his unit. "I apologize, but the Jem'Hadar aren't gentle."

"I already know that, thank you," she returned. "Whoever you are."

He smiled down at her, amused by her resistant fire. "Ah, spirited. My name is Keevan, Vorta Field Supervisor for the Dominion. In charge of overseeing the operations of ketracel-white and its protection, and other confidential information which I will not reveal so soon." He narrowed his eyes at her, taking her in once more and struggling to see past the hard-as-a-rock shell she covered herself with. "Would that be what you truly are, my dear? Not really a mere reporter, but a spy for Starfleet Intelligence that happened to make the insipid mistake of revealing herself so soon?"

"She's not a spy," Limara'son spoke, making Keevan's impatience thread snap, and he looked up in pure irritation.

"I don't believe I asked for your opinion, Fourth."

"What he meant was that she isn't a spy," Remata'klan spoke up, holding up a PADD that he'd found in the girl's possession and a small travel bag bearing a few more PADDs and ration bars, a couple phasers. "She is as she said she is; see for yourself." Scowling first at the device and then at his Third, Keevan took the PADD and looked at a familiar headline from some weeks ago, bearing the latest report of a rising death toll in the Federation side of the war - a name which practically everyone in all four Quadrants knew.

"Well, well, well. Annora O'Neal, Starfleet investigative journalist. I should have realized that firsthand when you didn't identify yourself." He lowered the PADD and locked eyes with her again. Her face was tight as ever; she was good at keeping herself together as he was. "Tell me, then, did you think to come all the way out here for another story and not anticipate the consequences? If so, that was brave and foolish of you."

She continued to look him in the eyes and refused to speak. Her defiance, remarkable as it was, was beginning to set his nerves on fire that he wished he could strike her into answering, but Vorta were not cruel by physical means, only mentally and verbally. "You two, get back to your posts," Keevan said to the Fourth and Fifth.

"What about the girl?" Remata'klan questioned. Keevan rolled his eyes.

"She remains here with me, where I can keep an eye on her. I daresay none of the holding cells are befit for her." Of course they were, but somehow, he felt like he ought to keep her here as a strange form of company after being stuck here with his stiff soldiers. He looked down then and found himself looking at the PADD of one of her previous reports; he found it all insightful without any trace of naiveté. She told the truth without expressing personal opinions; that was nothing Jake Sisko could compare to. She should have been on Terok Nor, instead of that boy slandering the name of the Dominion-Cardassian alliance.

"I don't see the point of you being handcuffed any longer," he noted when he found himself staring at her hands still bound behind her back. Thankfully he had a spare lock pick of his own. He motioned for her to turn around and she obeyed without a word; her wrists were freed in barely a second or two, and she was rubbing them when she turned back around to look him in the eyes again.

"You never answered my question, Miss O'Neal," he started only to get interrupted.

" _Mrs_. O'Neal." He looked up and frowned at her, only to advert his eyes when she held up her left hand, and he glimpsed the familiar wink of a wedding ring. "And you figured it out already. I wanted a story and got caught for it. I wasn't careful enough."

Her tone was partially playful; he wondered if she was doing that to insult him, and it was doing a fine job, but he wouldn't let her see. He fixed her with the same icy glare he gave everyone who dared to push his buttons, but she only cracked a small smile as she knew she got to him. "You certainly weren't," he agreed, a new question coming to light then, "but did you _purposefully_ do that?"

~o~

The Vorta were known for their exotic perfection, their graceful cunning and manipulative abilities, and did he think he could try to do that to her? She got herself into this, her novel PADD still untouched in the bag - for now - as well as her notes and all. And here she was beside this man who should be feared because he belonged to the enemy Dominion. However, Annora found herself locking eyes with him, her brown ones with his mesmerizing lavender ones. The irises were wide like the oceans, trying to pierce her soul and read every thought and secret. Cold, calculating, glittering wickedly and yet so...

... _enticingly_.

Annora felt the lump form in her throat at the unexpected word. Where did THAT come from? But it _was_ true; Keevan's eyes as well as the rest of his face looked like they were actually carved from some ancient precious mineral. She hadn't met any Vorta in her life as of yet - save for that one scientist known as Borath who might be classified as decent looking - but Keevan...

She stopped herself there. Why was she thinking like this? For God's sake, she was a married woman, and this man was the enemy!

Since when did she start worrying about _anything_? But she was married... _married_...and that was all she ever worried about, faithfulness...

"Well?" Keevan was looking her over still, hard as a glacier of ice. His mouth was firm and threatening to pull back if she kept him waiting any longer. "Was it purposeful?"

"Maybe it was, maybe not," Annora replied, giving him a wink. "But either way, you ought to worry about covering your tracks instead of my mess that I made."

By covering his tracks, that meant destroying the runabout so she couldn't get back to the starbase, where her uncle and the others were wondering where she was, perhaps discovered she was missing and found out that she overrode the security system to get the runabout she'd been denied as well as left for her unauthorized assignment -

The red alarm sounded then, getting everyone's attention.

"Another Federation vessel coming in!" one of the Jem'Hadar shouted, before yelling orders for the phaser beams to be activated at once. "They must have followed her!"

Her uncle must have picked up sooner than she thought. They were here to rescue her when she hadn't even gotten what she came for; this whole trip had all been for nothing, but she knew better than to underestimate the Jem'Hadar and their Vorta commander; they would kill the ones her uncle sent out to get her back to safety. Keevan whirled around to the Jem'Hadar who spoke. "First Tirak'iklan, they can't have her back. Destroy it now!"

He had no intentions of letting her go. What did she expect? He might as well had plans to take her with him, keep her prisoner and perhaps order interrogation and torture out of her to get viable information on Starfleet against the Dominion. Annora had experienced many things, but abduction and interrogation - and torture - were never on the list, so she had no idea what to expect. And he would see to it that the little rescue mission was never completed.

However, before the action could be carried out, the Starfleet vessel began to open fire on them. The ship rumbled side to side with the impact, and sparks flew from around them. Annora shrieked and fell _again_ into Keevan's arms - why was she even IN his embrace? She hated being the damsel in distress, being in the arms of this Vorta scum. But when his arms wrapped around her as he staggered back against the controls, taking her with him and dropping the PADD to the floor...she felt a flare of _warmth_ course through her body.

"Damn it!" Keevan shouted, shoving her aside to grasp at the controls himself. "I'm getting us out of here; we can't have this fight take place here!"

Annora looked around and wondered what she could do, but what _could_ she do when twelve Jem'Hadar and a Vorta were around her? She couldn't start anymore trouble when the Federation was attacking them; that meant getting herself killed in the process. Keevan looked her way as though _hearing_ her thoughts. "Don't think you can do anything about this," he warned, "because I have no intention of releasing you over to them. Fourth, hold her."

The Starfleet vessel was still firing at them when Annora found both her arms roughly grasped and pulled backwards so her back pressed against the body of the Jem'Hadar, whose name she learned was Limara'son. She squirmed against him, but it was useless to try and fight a soldier being. More sparks shot around them, but the ship was soon lifting up and turning around, firing the phaser beams at the other in hopes of destroying the occupants. The Jem'Hadar ship was taking them away from the asteroid now, further into deep space. One on one, away from the one destination that she came all the way here for - now she'd gotten more than she bargained for.

She'd gotten her first taste of true danger, especially in war time.

"Oh, Uncle, I'm sorry," she whispered to herself, lowering her eyes to the ground when the ship shook again.

"Commander, we lost our warp drive!" another Jem'Hadar shouted.

If the warp was disabled, then that meant there was no way to travel at lightspeed to get away from their attackers. If only she could persuade Keevan to let her speak to them and not kill them all on board, but she knew he would not listen to her. "Do you honestly think I didn't notice that?!" he snapped to the soldier. "Add the fact that our engines will come down soon if we don't stop them! Second, take over!" He managed to step aside for the Jem'Hadar second-in-command. Now he was against the wall not that far away from where Annora was still held prisoner.

She watched him closely. His chest was heaving up and down as though trying to keep calm. Was it her imagination, or was he beginning to be just as afraid as she was now? It made her want to laugh that a cold-hearted being like him and others of his kind could exhibit fear.

However, now that she found herself looking at him more closely now, she detected a kind of...vulnerability that she'd never seen before, not just the terror present. It was like he was afraid of... _dying._

Annora felt like the breath had been knocked out of her besides the fact that the ship had taken another course in turning the tables on the other ship, hell bent on protecting its territory.

Keevan was scared of DYING.

There was an explosion that wracked the fighter even more than it already was. The Jem'Hadar let her go so she fell forward to the ground, crying out in horror as sparks flew over her. Annora slid across the floor and found herself colliding with her precious bag, grabbing it and pulling it closer to her; her entire life was in there, and for that matter, her own life didn't matter. She looked up to see Keevan over her, grabbing her and hauling her up himself. "The Federation ship is gone," he informed her, face somber, "but we're losing control. There's a nebula approaching that we have to make for." He brought her back over to the middle of the bridge when the Third protested.

"Forgive me, but that nebula is uncharted, and we do not know if the ship will last that much longer to -"

"I'm well aware, but it's a risk we will _have to take_!" Keevan roared, his temper lost in a heartbeat. "Now get us there while we still have enough power and that much of an engine left!"

Annora stared at the outspoken Jem'Hadar whom she assumed was the one to question his leader more than the others. As far as she knew about the Jem'Hadar, they were genetically engineered to obey their Founders and the Vorta which were placed higher than them - but both Vorta and Jem'Hadar were never better than their "gods". She could just hear Mia scoffing with her on this rubbish.

~o~

Starfleet Intelligence reported that the main storage facility for ketracel-white was deep in Cardassian space, which was where they would be going now. Benjamin wanted nothing more than to take that place out with the others, because without their white, the Jem'Hadar would not function, and the Dominion would lose their best soldiers. Dax had made it clear she would shed no tears over their deaths if that would ever come. For all they knew, this would be their only way to end the war.

But it had begged the question as to HOW they would infiltrate Dominion-Cardassian territory without the _Defiant_ , but that was when the Jem'Hadar fighter they captured a year ago came in. Courtesy of Admiral Ross, because it was better than any cloaking device the _Defiant_ possessed.

No food replicators, no infirmary, no chairs...just all work and nothing else. Including virtual headsets and lack of viewscreens. Sisko could live with this, but try living with a massive headache after wearing those headsets for extended periods of time. Mr. Garak, however, never seemed to complain about it because those devices didn't affect Cardassians. And Ensign Nog briefly complained about his feet standing too long which wasn't what a Ferengi was made to do.

The interior of the ship as well as the lack of comfort for his crew weren't the only worries Captain Sisko received; it was also the fact that _Annora O'Neal_ of all people had been reported missing, and the security system overrode and a runabout unauthorized to take off. She had found out about the assignment before the crew was cleared for departure and had decided to go ahead of them to take matters into her own hands - once again, for a story. What the hell was she thinking this time? Sisko shook his head; of all the foolish notions to do this time, she had gotten much deeper than she should have. You know what they said if you tread deeper waters. Annora might have gotten herself killed this time.

He stopped himself when he remembered how downfallen the admiral looked yesterday when he voiced his worries: _"I just hope they don't kill her; she's my family, my brother's daughter. I know she's ambitious and brash, gets too far ahead of herself, but I love her. I sent a ship out, but they haven't reported back. They traced her back to the facility, but no word yet. I fear the worst. If you ever destroy the facility successfully, I hope you find her, Benjamin."_

Ross was right; he had family himself, so he knew what it was like. And besides, Mia had known Annora herself since childhood. If his adopted daughter ever learned that her best friend was dead, she would lose it more than she might be now at the station. And whatever that snake Dukat was doing to her...

He put those thoughts aside for now, since he had a mission to focus on.


	5. Marooned and Medical Attention

**I always knew that Keevan would be slightly different than other Vorta, because dying wasn't on his agenda despite being subject to cloning. But I always asked myself if there was anything deeper than that.**

Chapter Four

Marooned and Medical Attention

He knew he was risking everyone's lives on this ship, but what choice did they have when their ship was losing control as it was? That nebula was their only option given there were no other star systems nearby. They were in Cardassian territory, but there was no one nearby to save them at the present. And if the Founder learned of this, she would not give a damn that he knew. Keevan might be one of her best, but his defiance against her marked him as a rogue. Weyoun was the only "solid" she called her favorite.

So, in other words, if anything happened to him, the female Founder would shed no tears over him other than simply having him cloned again if he died.

But he swore to himself he would NOT give anyone the satisfaction of death and rebirth.

Keevan's limited eyesight wasn't as weak as Weyoun's and everyone else, so through his virtual screen, he saw the smoky outline of the gaseous nebula; upon entering such matter and moving past, the usage of sensor technology would be difficult. Third Remata'klan reminded him of this, but the man never knew when to remember his place until the last minute. Keevan appointed him in his place in the beginning because he was exceptional compared to the others, but because of his constant objections, he would remain in third place.

The ship violently convulsed again, and he found himself hitting the ground once more with the woman still in his arms. Why was he clutching her as if for dear life? Perhaps in case he was killed, at least he had some form of contact that could leave him dying happier than before -

\- he stopped when he found his nose buried in her long hair now in his face; unintentionally, he took a whiff and smelled some exotic wood combined with sweet fruits and flowers. Instantly, his senses were overwhelmed with this foreign sensation that coursed through the rest of his body. Momentarily, Keevan was distracted before he felt hands on his chest attempting to push him away.

"Excuse me, don't you have manners?" Annora O'Neal asked angrily, her brown eyes glaring at him with such fire. Keevan glared at her right back.

"I do, but now wasn't my intention. We're on the verge of crashing, so I suggest you hold on!" He shut his eyes tight and braced himself for the inevitable to come, still holding Annora in his embrace - her bag full of her prized possessions was held in one of her own while she managed a feeble return around his waist - as the fighter plummeted headfirst and spun uncontrollably towards the surface of the planet below...

~o~

She'd blacked out for a little bit only to come to her senses and hear distinct voices shouted - they were blurred, but slowly becoming clearer: _"...crashed...must get out...grab the equipment..."_

So, they'd crashed. She blinked and slowly sat up, feeling a familiar weight around her arm and breathed with relief that her works and all were still inside safe and sound. Add in that her body didn't feel sore by any means, except her arms throbbing with possible bruises to show. Annora blinked again and reached up to rub her eyes, seeing a tall shadow cast over her when she began to rise only for unwanted help to be by her side. She recognized the Third who boldly questioned his Vorta leader.

She stopped there. "Wh-where is he, Third?"

He looked down at her with a lack of emotion. "We haven't found Keevan yet, but we managed to get you and the equipment out of here safely."

Annora was utterly shocked, looking around to see where they were now; the planet was terrestrial, but it was also as barren as a moon - or like being somewhere in any desert on planet Earth. The fighter had crashed on the shore of an ocean, not far out, which made it easier for the Jem'Hadar unit to do the deed Remata'klan had mentioned: everything important was taken out of the damaged ship from weapons, the communication system, and other things - including a case she recognized which contained their ketracel-white, having seen five or six in her career. But the activity and the heat of the sun blaring down on her fair skin were the least of it.

 _Keevan..._ She didn't have the slightest of fondest feelings for the Vorta, but that didn't mean he deserved to die this way. Was he even _dead_ now? She dropped her bag and ran back for the ship, disregarding the soldiers around her. "Keevan!" she yelled over the smoke and flying sparks. Debris had fallen, the console system destroyed altogether, and nothing strange so far. Annora jumped inside, knowing there was more than where she stood, screaming at the top of her lungs again. "Keevan, where are you?"

There was movement and rustling to her right. "I'm...here..."

He clumsily stood and staggered over to her. Relief washed over her before it vanished just as quickly when she saw him grimace and lean over the fallen console - and showed the reason why he was holding his side the way he was.

A metal pole from a broken pipe had lodged itself into his right side, allowing purple-red blood to ooze through his shirt and cover his pale hands with it. The sight sickened her, but it was the look in Keevan's eyes that spoke to her the most: desperation. He cried out and fell to the ground when more sparks flew and took him by surprise. "Annora, please," he whispered as he feebly crawled her way. "Don't...leave me here..."

The sight of him critically hurt and vulnerable awoke the more heartwrenching side of her despite the fact she hated him. Annora shoved her hate aside and moved over to help him, but no sooner did she reach his side did he fall onto his back, still crying out in pain, hands wrapped around the pole. She wasn't the best doctor, but to pull that thing out meant he would end up bleeding more; she didn't want him to die from blood loss. And she couldn't just leave him here; she had to pull him out herself, so she took him underneath the arms and dragged him in the direction of the opened front of the ship, both of them sloshing into water before they met dry land.

Annora collapsed to her front, exhausted to her bones, then laid on her back and turned her head to see how Keevan was now. His eyes were squeezed tightly shut against the bright light on his face, and he was still wheezing, the pipe still inside him. Several shadows loomed over them both; his Jem'Hadar were now surrounding them and looking down with no emotion. "What are you waiting for? Help me with him!" she shouted, wishing that she wasn't alone in this, wishing Dr. Bashir was here because he was the finest medical officer she knew, even better than the one at Starbase 375.

"They're..." Keevan gasped before coughing. "...not skilled in medical attention, Mrs. O'Neal. You have to do what you must now."

Well, just perfect. What good could she do if that damned ship had no infirmary or medical kit? "Hold your breath," she said before taking the pole in both hands and wrapping her fingers around tightly. "It's going to hurt." She squeezed her eyes tight, whispering a soft sorry half to herself and to him - compassion washed over her for him at the present - before she yanked out the pipe with all her might.

A bloodcurdling scream of overwhelming pain filled her ears, yet did little to affect his soldiers still looking down at them both.

"Oh, God, I'm so, _so_ , SO sorry!" she cried, grasping her hair in both her hands and tugging but not hard enough to rip it out. How did and WHY she get herself into this?! First she got herself kidnapped, then allies of her uncle were killed because of her, and now she was stranded on a deserted planet with her life's work, no communication established, and a wounded Vorta in her "care". The blood was pouring more now, and she had to stop it soon with what little she had. It was a good thing she possessed a spare med kit in her bag. But first, she tugged off her yellow tunic and left herself in her sheer white blouse underneath, folding her tunic and pressing it over the bleeding wound in Keevan's side to stop the bloodflow.

She heard the First bark orders to the others to start searching for shelter, leaving her to pay attention to Keevan. He stopped crying, but his cheeks were shining with tears because it hurt so much. How could he make her feel so much sympathy when she knew what the Vorta were like? "You're going to be...okay," was all she could manage. "I'm not a doctor, but I'll do my best. I don't want you to die on me in this place."

Him lying on his back and staring up at her, squinting to prevent the sunlight from blinding him altogether, wasn't right. She moved over him so her shadow did its best to make him open his liquid blue eyes wider. His breathing had slowed down steadily, and he never seemed to take his eyes off of her. He was always studying her as though he didn't want to stop looking at her...like she was something important he didn't want to let go of.

For the first time in her life, she was a little afraid.

~o~

He lay against sand and earth, beneath a sun burning his skin hotter than any hell in every religion in existence. But his flesh being heated didn't compare to the intolerable pain in his side while the metal pipe was lodged into his muscles and bone, the hot stickiness of blood clinging to him - and the agony was white-hot higher than the sun's warmth when Annora pulled the thing from his body.

Keevan felt his world shine brighter before his eyes; he was shedding tears and hated himself for it. Crying was for the weak; that was how his predecessor felt when he was violated in captivity while during negotiations with the Cardassian Empire. Apparently, someone in the Union wasn't keen on joining with the Dominion and decided what had been done was his way of saying no, not that the Founder herself would ever care - and Keevan learned that the hard way after what he endured, after being blind for so long. No justice would be done for him, and him taking his own life was the only way out of his imprisonment.

But not this time. He might be dying now, but triggering the termination implant would not happen this time.

 _I don't want you to die on me in this place..._

He couldn't take his eyes off Annora's face the whole time she tore off her yellow tunic and folded it over his wounded side, stopping the blood as much as she could, frowning internally. Why was she treating his injuries when she wasn't even a doctor? Unless her husband was a doctor himself and had to teach her the best he could; Annora O'Neal never once discussed her personal life to the public. Keevan always assumed it was simply because she wanted it _private_. All he knew about her was that she married her sweetheart whom she met during Starfleet Academy, and soon they would reach the five-year mark.

"Why?" The word left his mouth regardless of whether he meant it to or not. She stopped what she was doing and raised an eyebrow, silently asking for clarification. "Why are you doing this?" Keevan repeated. "I'm going to die sooner or later, if this doesn't get proper medical attention."

Annora shook her head furiously. "I don't know, but none of us - including your men - deserve to die in a place like this."

Keevan scoffed; there was more than that, and he could see as well as feel it from her aura. He looked away from her face, in which her hair was tossed over one shoulder and in a tangled mass of sand-colored curls, and looked over her body; the undershirt was partially sheer so he could see outlines of her curves and her skin shining from incoming perspiration...he shook his head clear of those thoughts. This torridity was making him lose control of his rationality. If First Tirak'iklan and the others didn't find shelter soon for any of them...

"Sir, Second Corak'alon is dead. We found his body just now; he died in the crash," Seventh Yak'talon reported, moving to stand over them both. "What should we do with the body?"

The second was dead; that was hardly a surprise. Whenever the loss of a member of the unit occurred, the next in line would move up to the rank and the others would follow. Now that Corak'alon was gone and "sorely missed", Keevan thought with sarcasm, Third Remata'klan would become Second - but that would not happen so easily. He ought to learn discipline in obeying orders without question before he could think about a promotion. Perhaps while they were here until communications were re-established, the Jem'Hadar could learn. But that would have to wait. "Vaporize it at once, Seventh," Keevan ordered before a cough escaped from his struggling lungs.

Yak'talon nodded and turned back to three others who stayed behind to help with the equipment. Keevan watched for a few moments before turning to look back up at Annora. "That's what can't happen to me," he told her softly. "But _if_ I die, then it will be free from the Dominion."

His whole body was wracked with a series of coughing again, and his side throbbed unbearably again. Annora scoffed. "Perhaps less talking for now and less moving. Until we get to somewhere else where the sunlight won't be a problem."

"Indeed. And in the meantime, we shall be out here for awhile while First Tirak'iklan and the other six search for a place." Also in the meantime, the last four were stuck here hauling the equipment and leaving him with this human female tending to him the best she could. He still didn't know why she was trying to keep him alive, but at least he appreciated it. He closed his eyes again and smelled the air. Not only did he inhale the stale air of desert and water, but Annora's scent mingled with her own musky sweat.

Keevan blinked. He tried to remind himself she was a married woman, but he couldn't care less. Somehow, he had the feeling she wasn't happy in her marriage that she appeared to be, but what did he know about marriage?

~o~

Being in Keevan's company the whole time wasn't as bad as she thought it was, but at the same time, it was uncomfortable because he just couldn't keep his eyes off of her. They barely knew each other, respected the fact they were enemies, and now he'd been hurt and now she was taking care of him while his men worked on getting them someplace far from here.

Tirak'iklan returned with the rest; they had found an unoccupied cavern less than a mile away from the shore, and this would not be the only one on the planet. Apparently, there were more caves in the mountains, but they would not travel on foot any long distances from the seashore. Annora could breathe a sigh of relief for both herself and Keevan, who really needed a better place to rest than on the sand and in the sun. The Jem'Hadar didn't complain about anything, just gathered everything at their leader's orders. Annora was also deprived of handling the Vorta until they got to their destination; Keevan was picked up underneath the arms by a disgruntled looking Fourth Limara'son and at the legs by the Fifth whose name she never learned. In addition to being carried, Keevan was flinching at the additional pressure added to his injuries, and he couldn't stop crying out once in awhile, yelling at the two Jem'Hadar to stop rolling him.

"Stop your fussing until we get to the cave," Annora snapped when she couldn't take it anymore, keeping her bag slung over one shoulder as she fixed her hair with her free hand. "Then you won't have to move around much like I told you."

He glared at her but said nothing, and none of his men seemed to care, unless he ordered them to. But then she found her free arm grasped by Third Remata'klan, who lowered his voice and whispered to her, surprising her on the spot. "Don't provoke the Vorta," was all he said.

She was taken aback by the mild warning. Of course she knew what the Vorta were like, and she wasn't going to let Keevan take control of her, however THAT was. All she could do was nod and proceed with him and the others, ignoring the numbing of her legs and her lungs on the verge of crushing inside.

The cave they ended up in wasn't claustrophobic, but it was pretty dark that primitive means of lighting a fire that had been taken care of somehow before they returned for their wounded leader, their fellow Jem'Hadar and their captive who actually didn't feel like one because Keevan ordered his men to keep their hands off of her. Now that it was clear she was free to wander as she wanted - but not out of range of their vision - Annora wondered how she would keep herself in place for however long they would remain in this stench of a cave.

As for Keevan himself, he was laying on a rock that had the form of a bed that she made for him and the two Jem'Hadar laid him down, and besides his still-suffering body, the smell of the cave seemed to be getting to him, too. Actually, the smell wasn't hideous, but it wasn't nice either. It was dank with old water from the cracks as well as a mossy addition despite a lack of fresh plant life - if there were any out there if she and he were to survive since the Jem'Hadar solely relied on ketracel-white.

"They're getting to work on the communication system as soon as possible," Keevan told her as she got back to work with him, removing her bloodied tunic and noticing that his bleeding had stopped, but who knew how severe his insides were. If this lasted any longer, he could contract an infection for sure, and she knew little to nothing about the anatomy of his species. "But in the meantime, you're stuck with me." His eyes were searching her again, locking hers with his, that incredible shade of lilac. "If we ever get rescued, I would not allow you to leave my sight, Mrs. O'Neal."

"Call me Annora," she said, slipping her boots off because her feet were sore and ignoring the dirty ground. "And what use will you have of me if the Founder lets you?"

He chuckled softly. "I really don't know, but here's what I do know for sure: you fascinate me in such a way that I can't describe to myself." He closed his eyes then and turned his face away from her, telling her that he wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. Annora shook her head and turned her back to him. If he didn't need her attention for awhile, perhaps she could work more on her book. Her bag rested at the head of his makeshift rock of a bed and opened it to search for the wanted PADD.


	6. Operation TEMPTATION

**Keevan is just so sexy and blunt, and Christopher Shea truly was the perfect man to play this smug, enrapturing little creature. ;)**

Chapter Five

Operation T.E.M.P.T.A.T.I.O.N

Somehow, she found it difficult to concentrate on the newest chapter. Namely because she was used to working alone, but this time she was surrounded by eleven Jem'Hadar and a sleeping but wounded Vorta behind her - and the fact she was in this underground cavern with a horrible smell filling her nostrils. If only she could go outside for some peace and quiet, but she doubted Keevan would not think she'd try to escape, which she wouldn't since where COULD she go and HOW could she get that far from this place? When she didn't even know what planet this was?

This place was uncharted, her memory recalled. No nearby towns or villages by any means, which meant no lifeforms. She'd seen some plant life and water holes. This place could easily be called an oasis if not the idyllic paradise described verbally and in the imagination - and perhaps a good place for her heroine's unintended imagination. A desert illusion was often brought on when you least expected it, and that was what made it the best of all fantasies. And here was Annora in one of those landscapes she never thought she'd wind up in despite traveling much of her career.

She'd finished only two paragraphs before she gave up for now, boredom suddenly overtaking her. Sighing in exasperation, she reached for her bag and put the PADD back - only to see the medical kit she brought with her.

Keevan looked like he had fallen asleep already, but how could anyone fall asleep _that_ fast? Unless he was pretending to until he actually did. Turning her body around, Annora couldn't help but take him all in. His lashes above his cheekbones were long and almost feminine, the cheeks themselves marble smooth and glowing with the reflection of the flickering fire. Eyes exploring further, Keevan's nose was small and straight, and his lips were parted to breathe in and out gently...his lips which were slim and full at the same time.

Keevan was just... _beautiful._

She loathed him because he belonged to the Dominion which she was with her uncle and everyone else in the Federation on despising and longing to beat. But at the same time, since she was more reasonable than judging just by that, she didn't know anything about him. The Vorta were engineered like the Jem'Hadar, so they had no choice but to serve the Founders and not join the Federation or live away from them if they ever wanted to. Jem'Hadar survived on that drug called white, but the Vorta were made to command them as well as to negotiate and settle for the Founders.

In other words: they had NO CHOICE. They were at risk of death if they chose to rebel, which was highly unlikely.

Add in the fact that they were striking creatures. Where they naturally that way, or did the Founders have that done themselves? Those ears were so unusual, defined on either side of Keevan's head, and his black hair slightly wavy in a rich mass of silky-looking curls. His face overall was nothing like she'd ever seen before - and nothing at all like Jeffrey's rugged good looks. This was something too good to be alive.

Annora quickly lowered her eyes away from his face and found herself staring at her yellow tunic still folded over his damaged side. She was married and was thinking about her captor in a way she shouldn't. She did not remember ever feeling like this before and was afraid of it now. She just hoped it would wear off before she went crazy.

She hoped to distract herself by grabbing that medical kit, opening it and hoping to find something suitable to keep Keevan's wound from getting any worse than it was. Sadly, the best she found were synthehol and analgesics to alleviate the pain temporarily - notably terakine and asinolyathin. He deserved surgery, but he might not get it in time. Which meant that...

No, she would not panic; she would work with this and then bandage it the best she could for now. And that also meant having to remove his shirt - she flushed just thinking about that - as well as waking him. His soft brown shirt was bloody enough as it was, and her tunic, so for now she would just lift the fabric off and remove the whole shirt later. Annora slipped closer to him with the kit in her hand, reaching over to take the folded yellow fabric from his side...and showed the dark maroon stain spreading through Keevan's clothing. She winced and dropped her shirt to her lap before hesitantly reaching over and lifting that dark-stained part of his shirt to expose pale skin stained with purple-red blood surrounding an extremely dark, nearly-black hole where the pole had been. The sight made her want to vomit, but she held it in.

She dabbed the synthehol on the white cloth and then reached over to carefully press it against Keevan's pale flesh; in response, Keevan gasped at the cool fluid on his skin, his body lifting slightly before resting again, his eyes remaining closed but his head turning in the other direction which faced her. Annora shook her head and continued her care with wiping the blood - and then her fingers unintentionally brushed against his bare stomach.

She flushed and jerked her hand away, despite the fact that his skin was more than just simply silky smooth, more than her husband's - only for Keevan's hand to shoot up and close its fingers around her wrist, holding her in place. Annora looked up at his face and found her eyes meeting his once again. Those tanzanite-colored orbs pierced through her being like a blade. "Why stop when you've gone too far down?" The question sounded like it was laced with a nearly suggestive undertone. Tempting and tugging.

Annora swallowed. How could she answer? And why did he have such an effect on her that she did not ever remember feeling for Jeffrey? The question alone made her feel guilty to a degree. She felt herself tremble at the pressure of his fingers and soft skin around her bared wrist, and her nerves felt like they were on fire. Keevan's eyes glittered.

"You like the feel of me touching you, don't you, Annora? And don't lie to me," he warned, tightening his grip when she tried to pull her hand away. All she wanted to do was to get away from him fast. "I can see and feel it from you, don't forget that. We Vorta can sense truth and lie from humans, aliens and humanoids alike. If I hear you say no, I'll feel the raised lines right away."

"Don't ask me such questions," Annora said, trying to keep her strong shell intact, her throat tightening as she felt her skin moisten under the pressure of his intense stare. "I'm married, and I shouldn't exhibit such emotions for anyone else - including you. And don't forget the fact we're enemies."

Nothing ever seemed to affect the Vorta, or if anything did, he would hide it with a smile. "I push boundaries when I see fit, because if I see something, I want it and I will do anything to get it. Which seems to be the one thing we have in common." He tilted his face to the side further so he was looking _straight_ up at her. Without an angle to show. "Am I correct?"

He knew her so well even though she told him nothing much; he knew just by observing her every move and reading every bit of her emotions. He unnerved her even more than the Jem'Hadar around them. "Would you let my wrist go, please?" She hated to beg, but the pressure was too much.

But Keevan chuckled again before coughing a couple times again. "I won't let you go until you answer my question."

"Then yes. But what business is it yours to know?"

"It's my business," he returned, face hard again, "because we are alone together, besides my men who frankly don't care unless I bring it to their attention." He let her go then, and Annora brought her wrist into her other hand to rub, the white, synthethol-scented fabric still in her grasp. Keevan's eyes adverted down to watch as her free fingers massaged where her pulse was rapidly throbbing.

"You never answered my question."

"I thought I did," Annora returned, this time refusing to make eye contact with him. She already admitted to pushing boundaries, which would be enough - but Keevan as well as she knew that wasn't the case.

"About liking my fingers making your pulse pound and your skin burn?" he purred, the seduction evidently clear now. "Has your _husband_ ever made you feel like that?"

~o~

 _They were married now, but how could she ever expect to feel like she should? She fidgeted from foot to foot in the bathroom, her toes itching and shooting throughout the nerves in her legs to the rest of her body, and she wasn't normally this nervous, not since she feared rejection from Starfleet Academy after admitting. She was a new bride, and she could hear her girlfriends giggling after they left her and her new husband in their shared room. Her uncle had returned to Starbase 375 on urgent business, and the day after tomorrow, she and Jeffrey returned to school, but not as simply sweethearts._

 _Next year they would graduate, and yet they were already husband and wife._

 _Had she TRULY made the right decision to marry so quickly?_

 _"Annora, are you all right?" he called from the other side of the door. She almost jumped. Her skin was tingling with anticipation - and this was not the good kind of anticipation._

 _"Yeah, I'm almost ready," she responded. She had tied the sash of her ombre-printed purple silk robe before; now she undid it and opened it to reveal the sensual-looking purple slip of a nightgown underneath. Her hair was in a ponytail because she didn't want her hair being in the way of them tonight. She'd just taken her nerve medicine to calm down, but it would take awhile to fully set in._

 _The bathroom door whooshed open, and she stepped out, nearly running into Jeffrey. She shut her eyes as her way of trying to calm her erratic heartbeat down, Jeffrey's laugh entering her system. His laugh always helped with relieving all tension. But it didn't erase the anxiety about what they would soon get to doing for the first time. It was one of those things she and Mia always talked about before the latter left the academy. Who knew if her best friend would achieve that dream now, especially with the weight of her father's death on her shoulders._

 _"Are you ready?" She looked into Jeffrey's dark eyes when he asked her the question. He was so kind to her when they first met, and he was still; he was her best friend, rugged and good-looking and all...but she wasn't sure if it was the love she read in all her favorite stories, sometimes writing it, but reality didn't always work like that. When he confessed his love for her, she had told him so soon right away - although she wasn't sure if she meant it or simply said it out of a sense of obligation. But it was too late to turn back now. She nodded and was the first to make way for the bed._

~o~

"Of course he has, but it's none of your business no matter what you say," Annora said defensively, trying to change the subject physically by raising that cloth to his wound again, but Keevan wouldn't let her get away with it. Her answer was forced, meaning she was hiding something from him. He hissed at the pain relievers administered, but the numbing pain was gone for the time being, but that would not distract him.

"You're lying. I warned you not to keep any secrets from me. Why would you keep something like this a secret from anyone - including your husband - but most importantly _myself_?" Now that his wounds were temporarily alleviated, he could turn on his side facing her a tad slightly, and at the same time, Annora shifted away from him while putting her medical tools back where she found them. He had to admit, for someone who wasn't a physician, she did a fine job the best she did.

She slid off the edge of the "bed" and crawled over to her bag. "Because it's no one's business, and how many times do I have to keep telling you?" she growled, furiously shoving it inside and sealing the bag shut.

Keevan growled in return. He was sick and tired of these games. "Because the way I see it, contact is one of the most important factors of having an important being by your side for as long as you both live."

"Have you actually been with a woman, Keevan?" She dared to challenge him and his current intimate state, which was nonexistent. Keevan seethed and reached over to grasp her arm, forcing her to turn and face him again, ignoring her demand that he release her. They were far away from the Federation presence and the Dominion's as well, so he had all the time to exert his power over her. She was a mere human, susceptible to his control, after all.

"No, I haven't."

"Then how do you know what it's like to be 'close' to someone in that way?"

Keevan snarled and released her when she tugged her arm away from him. "That is my concern." If she was going to tempt him into harming her physically when he was unable to do so, then so be it. He was too tired for this as it was, but no matter. There would be another time to crack her. She proved to be a vital challenge, but he enjoyed a challenge.

Annora stared at him for a moment before she laughed and tossed her hair behind her shoulder. "Do you really mean that, or are you just playing around with me like you Vorta do to others you negotiate with?"

"I absolutely would never lie to you about my celibate state. Even if I were to mate, it wouldn't be with someone like you who adds oil to my rage." Keevan blinked then; did he truly mean that, or did he only say it to satisfy her for now and try another tactic later? It didn't matter now because the words were already spoken, but he would change that someday soon.

Annora scoffed. "Well, that makes two of us." She stood up then and turned her back to him before starting to walk away only to be stopped by one of the Jem'Hadar. Keevan smirked.

"Just where do you think you are going? Not trying to escape, are we?"

"To find the nearest watering hole there is, if any," she answered smoothly. "Because I'm a woman and I have to keep myself clean despite being in a place like this. You don't want me to be around you smelling like a native wild animal from wherever you are from, do you?" She turned her head halfway around, and the eye from that side winked at him. "Besides, if I were to escape, _where_ would I go?"

"I am from Kurill Prime, and no, I suppose I don't want you to." Keevan sighed and closed his eyes, wishing he could fall asleep for sure this time. Last time he tried to only for the pain in his side to overtake it - but it was also Annora's handwork which soothed him as she tended to him. He scoffed to himself, hearing her footsteps disappear out through the entrance they had come through.

Annora O'Neal was such a fierce minx who never knew when to close her mouth, but that was himself to an extent. He knew that her husband could not have made her happy in _that_ department, but why would she lie and keep THAT private? Unless she wanted to deal with it herself and not burden anyone else with it even if she needed help...but did not want to ask for it. She was proud and arrogant, stubborn and willful...and inwardly troubled, even when she did not realize it.

Keevan opened his eyes then at the realization, staring up at the ceiling. So, that was it. She pretended to be happy just so no one else questioned her, tried to be strong as she was so she wasn't weak. He smiled to himself at the possible victory of getting her to confess all of this.

His blood boiled when he remembered her bold method of questioning his untouched sexual state. Natural Vorta bonds were far beyond the ties created between other beings, including humans, and therefore, the links established could never be broken...but upon the death of one, the grief was too strong to resist. That was why Weyoun refused to give himself to Keevan.

~o~

 _He tried to sway from the topic, but because of late - and due to the memories of his predecessor and the unwanted pain in his body the last Keevan experienced - he knew he could not stray any longer._

 _He was well aware of the longing gazes most females would give him, and quite a few males; a handful of them would engage in flirtatious conversation with him, but none of them interested him enough beyond mindless chatter or feeble attempts for him to get into bed with them. He had to admit, though, it was flattering that he spawned attention, but that was the way of the Vorta: to attract and lure. But he had never been so lucky to actually find what everyone called a soul mate._

 _In this case, he was desperate to learn the ways of attracting one. And he was talking about one who truly interested him and was interested in him right back. But because of his attitude, he wasn't so fortunate._

 _Now that he stood before Ambassador Weyoun's door, he started to second-guess. For all he knew, despite their former teacher-student relationship and budding friendship, Weyoun might be appalled at the "offer", and therefore would leave Keevan in utter regret and loss._

 _He stepped through the doorway when the occupant on the other side called for the unexpected visitor. "Ah, Keevan!" Weyoun said, smiling as he stood from behind his desk, which held a series of PADDs. "What a pleasant surprise." His smile faded when he saw Keevan's stoned face, devoid of any happiness. "Why, whatever is the situation?" He stood up and walked over to the younger Vorta who lowered his eyes to the ground._

 _"For short, I would call it a...situation of inability to attract the opposite sex."_

 _Keevan slowly looked up and searched carefully for the signs. Realization and understanding shimmered in Weyoun's eyes. "Oh, I believe I understand perfectly what you are trying to tell me, my friend. I have been watching you carefully, and it is such a shame that they don't appreciate you the way you ought to be."_

 _Keevan sighed and bowed his head. "Agreed, but how can we want what we can't have?" he asked, allowing the cool and aloof shell he put on for others fall to show the more vulnerable side of himself to his cherished friend and supervisor. "We love our gods, no doubt, and yet we can't be happy with what the others possess and are kept as whole. Or what our natural people share as those other lives do. What would it be like to actually...physically bond with another?" He had to tread these waters carefully because it was never to just jump into, because jumping into the water too soon meant finding out how deep it was at the last minute._

 _Weyoun pursed his lips thoughtfully and folded his arms across his chest. "Hmm, that is a good question. I often ask myself that, but my predecessors have never had what the important link is called, and even if they did, they chose not to take full advantage of it. I wish I had an answer to that." He shook his head. "But no matter. I am not my predecessors, as you are not yours," he said softly, reaching up to cup Keevan's chin with his fingers, bringing the younger Vorta's eyes up to meet his._

 _He felt like he would melt, and it was not long before he felt hot moisture in a single streak down his cheek, which made Weyoun frown and reach up to wipe it. "Keevan, there is no need to shed tears. It is our way of life; we must embrace it."_

 _"Just as I should embrace loneliness for the rest of my immortal life?" Keevan dared to boldly ask, risking a frown for himself._

 _"Now, that is too far. Your time will come, but in the meantime, serving the Founders and all our other duties come first. Happiness is always a second achievement as a reward."_

 _Now he felt he shouldn't have come. Keevan nodded brusquely and bowed his head as his gesture of saying good night, but before he could turn to leave, Weyoun stopped him. "No, please, don't go, my young friend. That is not the only reason you came." He was smiling now as his way of apologizing. "You know you can talk to me. We made the pact long ago; don't be afraid to ask me anything at anytime."_

 _The words were blurted out with impressive impulse due to being bottled up for so long a time. "Weyoun, I want you to...teach me something that I have no experience with that does not involve our Cardassian alliance and anything related." He reached up and took the ambassador's hands into his own. "Please, show me what it is like to...desire and be desired."_

 _Weyoun's jaw had dropped by the slightest. "Keevan -"_

 _There was no mistaking the hesitation and shock. "I'm sorry," Keevan said, horrified at his worst fear come to life, "I shouldn't have asked. I ought to go back to my quarters -"_

 _"No!" Weyoun exclaimed, taking his hand into his own. "I apologize, but it came as quite the shock." He sighed and shook his head. "It's just that, the first three Weyouns experienced pleasure in meaningless ways only once, and the last before me had immense feelings for one woman he only met but never had the chance before his demise." Talking about the deaths of your predecessors was a sensitive subject, but he brought his own up for a reason. "I suppose..." he said slowly, turning his attention back to Keevan. "...I could teach you what I memorized, but I'll try to make it more meaningful - without going too far down that road," he swore with his eyes firm and determined. Keevan bit his lower lip and nodded._

 _Weyoun cleared his throat before leading the way over to the bed. "I do not have all of this in exact order, but as you know, an embrace establishes close contact that is safe enough on a daily basis, but you must also be aware that it is not professional to do so in the presence of our gods and allies. Sometimes it can ignite the drive." He demonstrated by taking Keevan into his arms; in response, Keevan wrapped his own around Weyoun's torso. Truth be told, his mentor's embrace was the first and only one besides Eris he ever welcomed...and it made his body alight with mellow delight._

 _"An embrace," Weyoun continued, keeping contact with the younger Vorta, "can be advanced to more, such as rubbing and touching." One arm left him and proceeded to caress Keevan's clothed back, making his skin burn slightly, and finally meet the back of his head, massaging his scalp and tugging gently at the curls, before coming around to cup his cheek. Keevan closed his eyes at his body's growing desire despite this being a lesson he needed to learn. "Bodies rubbing together only serves to increase the desire to mate." Oh, Weyoun's words were laced with pure seduction with his wisdom._

 _Keevan opened his eyes again and looked deep into Weyoun's again. "May I...try something then, please?" he asked softly. At Weyoun's affirmative, he leaned up and pecked a brief, chaste kiss on the ambassador's lips. Weyoun stiffened in surprise at the impulsive action and didn't respond; Keevan took this as his sign to give another kiss, this one not so innocent and his tongue begging to get inside the older Vorta's mouth. Weyoun complied then and deepened the kiss despite himself, as well, and his arms brought Keevan closer to his body, murmuring wordlessly. His hips massaged against Keevan's then, but his body wasn't near the state Keevan's was in, which disappointed him, but he didn't care._

 _Breaking the kiss, Keevan gasped for air. His cheeks were flushing with heated embarrassment. "I'm...sorry."_

 _"Don't be," Weyoun assured him tenderly. "That is what a kiss is like. Your body is obviously aroused enough." His hands were on Keevan's arms, now lowered to his sides. "I'm going to have to ask you to take your clothes off now."_

 _He had never been unclothed before in front of another being, besides being halfway in that Cardassian environment, but that was his last incarnation that he wanted to forget. His heart beating, Keevan obeyed and stripped down until he stood before Weyoun, naked as he woke in Borath's laboratory. But he found himself covering the juncture of his thighs with embarrassment, making Weyoun laugh and shake his head. "There is nothing to be afraid of, Keevan. Let me see you." He dropped his arms then and stood tall and rigid, looking Weyoun in the eyes and refusing to look anywhere else. "Why, would you look at yourself?" Weyoun took his hand again and brought him over to the mirror nearby; Vorta might struggle with appreciating art and beauty, but not of themselves and their fellows. "Have you not looked at yourself this way?"_

 _Keevan couldn't look at his nude body in the mirror despite his mentor's encouragement; he was too shy to acknowledge his perfection, but then Weyoun's hand came up to caress his back, making him shudder at the sensations his nerves received. "That's it," Weyoun whispered in his ear, lips briefly ghosting over his lobe, similar jolts shooting out. "Keevan, please look at your magnificent body right now and appreciate what you should be proud of...that females would long for if you tried harder."_

 _He forced himself to look then, his right hand still holding Weyoun's as the ambassador still stood behind him; the other hand rested on Keevan's left shoulder for extra comfort, and the Vorta representative was standing further behind at half an arm's length. Keevan felt like his heart would burst at the sight he knew he bore but never paid attention to. His shoulders weren't broad and overtly muscled, and neither was his chest, but his pectoral muscles were defined, the nipples small and pale. His stomach was firm and flat with a barely showing pack; his hips were gently flaring in a nearly feminine style, his thighs toned. But when his eyes landed between his legs, he closed his eyes, but Weyoun caught on and let his hand go of Keevan's only to come and rest over his stomach, making Keevan sigh and lean his head backwards._

 _"Keevan, please, look. You're too far to turn back now. Look and touch yourself there."_

 _He opened his eyes then and looked at his manhood, which was a slender but otherwise decent length, not monstrously huge by any means. His pubic hair was in a relatively sparse amount, the black nest doing little to conceal the arch between his pelvic bones. His hand moved of its own volition in its direction, the skin between his hip and bush sensitive and igniting a jolt that left him tingling with burning pleasure. The feel of hair was soft and rough at the same time; he grasped a few more strands and tugged experimentally, the feeling a tad strange, but when his fingers found his erect length, he uttered a moan loud enough to bounce off the walls at the beautiful feeling his body experienced - and his teacher was proud of him._

 _"Very good. You're doing well." Weyoun's hand ghosted over his back again, then traveled down to cup his left buttock, squeezing the firm flesh. "Keevan, you're the best student I ever had. Alright, you can cease touching yourself now."_

 _He moaned when he forced himself to stop, but the ache was too unbearable to ignore. He turned around and looked at Weyoun again. "I can't take this alone. I want you to show me what it is like for another to give me the pleasure..."_

 **If the slight homosexuality disturbed anyone, then I'm sorry. But I thought it'd have been a good idea that Weyoun taught Keevan physically since they are as close as brothers would be. And if anyone can picture, Keevan DOES have a nice body. ;D**

 **I've also done oneshots of these two, all inspired by and in thanks to another story not from this amazing place I've had the pleasure of being a fan of long before I became a member and author myself. I reference to that story multiple times in my shots of Weyoun and Keevan, and if anyone is interested, feel free. :D**


	7. A Desert Fantasy

**The chapter is named after a DVD special for Sarah Brightman's "Harem" album, and the song is by her, "Snow on the Sahara".**

Chapter Six

A Desert Fantasy

Oh, how divine it was to feel Weyoun give him that pleasure, but it ended after his peak was reached, because going past the danger zone meant they would be forever attached, and Weyoun only loved him like a brother, which Keevan respected. If anyone else of another people knew this matter of attachment they committed, they would have been disgusted.

And there had also been Weyoun fearing that if anything happened to him if they were bonded, he would suffer eternally, even if it were for a few days until his next incarnation. The same would go for Keevan, who would never want to experience that kind of pain. To feel as well as see it happen to the one he loved would be more than he could tolerate. Perhaps that was why he and Eris remained friends, too, and she was the more collected one, but Keevan could have sworn he saw the hurt in her eyes, which he never forgave himself for despite their friendship remaining as it was.

And now he was experiencing this long-suppressed longing now that a certain Federation reporter had walked into his existence. And an unhappily married one, at that.

His stomach still tingled with the memory of her fingers ghosting over his skin. She didn't intend to purposefully do so, but it had brought forth the intensity his body longed to share with another being. But she spoke such hatred of him that he didn't care; she was resistant and hot-tempered, but he didn't give up so easily.

However, it stung slightly to know she despised him clearly that he wondered if he could ever get as lucky as Weyoun had, however he was doing now back on Terok Nor with the Sisko girl. Sighing, Keevan closed his eyes again and allowed himself to drift off into sleep when the effects of those medicines overtook.

~o~

None other than First Tirak'iklan had accompanied her to take her around the area; he was the only Jem'Hadar to follow her and keep an eye on her, with or without Keevan's order. Watching her was the only job he had to do, and he would shoot her down without hesitation if she tried to run. But the excessive stare of his violent eyes on her back made her shrink more than the sun above did. She tried to distract both herself and him by making small talk.

"I've spent little time around your people, First," she said as she surveyed her surroundings. The small rocky cliffs surrounding them provided enough protection from prying eyes even though none were needed; they were the only ones here - or were they? Still no findings of fauna, but the vegetation around was scattered at its best. She needed to find it sooner or later for both herself and Keevan.

But in the meantime, there was an oasis lying ahead when she and Tirak'iklan stopped.

"You and your people aren't like us," Annora went on, still studying the water spot; they had traveled several distances - only four hundred feet from the cave on foot - and found minimal forestry resembling palms you would find on Earth. It was all very beautiful, but very deserted and possibly dangerous. The Sahara Desert was a perfect example. "But isn't there anything we all can do together while we are stranded here?" She didn't want anything to do with these mean-spirited soldiers, but if she could just play nice for the time being, maybe things would cool down.

"Like what?" the Jem'Hadar asked.

Annora shrugged as she knelt down on the rock behind the growing green grass, taking off her boots which she had put back on before leaving. "I really don't know, but for all I know, the Jem'Hadar don't do anything for fun. What could we even do while we are in a place like this? I'll do my best to care for your Vorta, but his death might be beyond my control. He needs surgery, which I don't have the expertise for." Inwardly, she once more wished that time wouldn't come.

Tirak'iklan nodded. "He won't last as long as we are here, I agree. But Remata'klan remains Third instead of Second as long as Keevan is alive, because my third-in-command questions the Vorta time to time. That is never something to be ignored quite so easily."

She looked up at him in shock while in the middle of slipping off her trousers so she was left in her blouse and underwear. "Your Third questioned him about the nebula, and Keevan was the one who ordered us in, and if he hadn't, we wouldn't have crashed," she stated, though in reality, it was necessary because the ship had been damaged by phaserfire.

"But it wasn't his place. It is NEVER the place of a soldier to question his orders," the First responded sternly, keeping his eyes on her, never taking them off her face to see her state of half-undress. The Jem'Hadar had no sense of sexual activity, which made her feel a little safer, but she still deserved privacy. "As our slogan goes, obedience brings victory, and victory is life."

The Jem'Hadar were brutal and skilled, but at the same time, they were intensely loyal to those they served. It was courage to admire, but it was also a level never before seen save for those who lived to tell of it. If she ever got away in time, she could tell anyone who asked. "I've heard that saying before," Annora said, unbuttoning her blouse in the front from the bottom to the top until her white lace undergarments were revealed, but he gave no reaction, "and can you please turn around so I can bathe in privacy? You Jem'Hadar have more to understand about human and humanoid behavior. We don't let others see our bodies for any reasons."

To her surprise, he bowed his head once and turned his back to her in a single swing, apparently trusting her for now. Smiling, Annora unhooked her brassiere from behind and then tossed it along with her underwear to the rest of her clothes on the rock. She should be ashamed of herself, being nude outdoors like this, with the Jem'Hadar in front of her, but his back faced her. She ignored him then and turned to walk over and step into the water, shivering at the cold chills her body received after being in the sun all this time as well as temporarily underground. Her breasts tingled, her nipples hardening afterwards. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the brief moment of being in this beautiful place before reality snapped her to life that she sank lower into the water until her chest was covered, and her hair at the ends floating on the surface.

 _Only tell me that you still want me here_  
 _When you wander off out there_  
 _To those hills of dust and hard winds that blow_  
 _In the dry white ocean alone_  
 _Lost out in the desert_  
 _You are lost out in the desert_

First Tirak'iklan was still turned away from her, but then he called to her. "How long do human females take their time to clean?" He asked out of curiosity, not that she could blame him.

"Well, it's normally fifteen to twenty minutes since we are more advanced with keeping up appearances and smell than most men of our species," Annora responded, her arms moving underwater to massage every part of her body, even the most erogenous parts - and unexpectedly, the most sensitive lower part of herself. But she had to keep herself fresh down there as well; that was the main rule.

The sooner her uncovered fingers parted that part of herself open to let the water refresh her, she remembered that she forgot to bring something to dry with. "Damn it!" she said, jumping up from the water and exposing her chest. Tirak'iklan whirled around and stared at her; Annora quickly covered her chest with both hands.

"What is it?" he demanded.

"I forgot to bring a blanket or something, to dry with," she admitted sheepishly. "Is there a chance you can get me one back at the camp? Or call for one of your men to bring it, if you want to still keep an eye on me?"

He nodded once before speaking into his comm badge, which was still functional. "First Tirak'iklan to Fifth Soran'ilan, fetch our prisoner a thermal blanket and bring it to these coordinates..."

~o~

 _"You came back."_

 _He had opened his eyes at the sound of approaching steps his sensitive ears picked up; she had come back, and her hair was wet and over both shoulders. He offered a friendly smile, and to his surprise, she smiled back. How had she forgiven so soon?_

 _And then he saw the dark, languid look in her eyes. He could not mistake what it meant. "You want me," Keevan purred, his body stirring. His back and limbs were numb from resting on this rock of a bed for so long that he needed some form of relief. "After an hour or two, and we stated we hated each other."_

 _Annora knelt down beside him, her eyes still locked with his. The heat of the fire warmed his skin and was no doubt doing the same to her; he could see the shine of her soft flesh. His Jem'Hadar were looking at them all with blank interest. "Leave us for now," Keevan ordered softly. He did not want them to see what was finally about to occur between him and this woman, who was married to another, but he did not care. All he knew was that he desired her the moment he first laid his eyes on her - and held her in his arms as the ship crashed on this desert of a planet._

 _She did not say a word to him, just leaned into him, her face close enough to want to kiss him. He did the honors of leaning his head up and pressed his lips against hers. Warmth tingled through his mouth and covered his senses with streaks of fire that didn't come from the makeshift bonfire. He purred again, against Annora's mouth. He brought his hands up her back, hiking underneath the thin fabric of her shirt and caressing the smooth skin of her back, reaching to find what was called a brassiere; he had never unhooked one before, but if only he could get this off -_

~o~

"Sir, they're back."

He opened his eyes in a flash and looked up to see Third Remata'klan looking down at him expectantly. For once, Keevan smiled despite being awoken from his dream; how long had he been asleep? It felt like a mere three minutes in his mind...and his lips were burning as though he had actually _kissed_ Annora. His nerves prickled with the addition of him licking his lips, wishing he could at least find some trace of her on him when it would be difficult to get a real lip lock from her.

She strolled in with First Tirak'iklan behind her, face not tight as he remembered, and in her arms was a thermal blanket in a bundle. Her hair appeared as though it was still damp, and once again tossed over one shoulder. She was fierce as a primitive woman from the old ages. "Freshened up?" Keevan asked, cracking a devious grin.

Annora smirked to one corner of her mouth, their hostilities from earlier forgotten for now. "Sleep well?" she returned, making him laugh.

"The best it could go until you returned. Although, I doubt the relief in my body would last long enough before I need more of the pain relievers. And I am no doctor, either."

"And as your makeshift 'doctor'," Annora said, her tone now teasing, "perhaps I can persuade you to eat something I found near the watering hole?"

She opened the blanket in her lap, showing what looked like berries. They were bright red and small, dozens enough to fill her whole palm. "They're not poisoned, either," she explained as she offered him a few, "because I took the risk of tasting one myself."

She'd risked her own life for him. Keevan was impressed; she'd risked her life and possibly her freedom before when she came alone to the white facility, and it made him wonder how she was even alive after all those times she must have done things no different. Luck was on her side, it seemed. But good luck could always run out.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to taste them," he told her as he examined them in the middle of his palm, "but it's better than nothing. And poison won't affect me by the slightest. Natural immunity to toxins is common in my people." He popped them into his mouth then, moaning at the cool splash to the roof of his mouth which spread throughout and down his esophagus. "But there are a fair few Vorta aren't safe from, in which cures have not been discovered yet."

She nodded, keeping her eyes on him as she put another into her mouth. "I knew being a Vorta was no better than a Jem'Hadar living under the command of one of your own," she said. "Obedience brings victory."

Keevan laughed again. "Quoting what Tirak'iklan told you, eh? Nothing I wouldn't expect. And yes, indeed, obedience brings victory. Obedience is vital in the Dominion."

"But the fact that your precious Founders don't take the time to equip your beloved fighters with food replicators to fit your people's taste, or even pack it with medical emergency? Not that I'm surprised because of how the Jem'Hadar survive." Her eyes glittered. "Or are the Founders that much heartless and leave their servants to die?"

It didn't surprise him she would be the first to debate him on his way of life. Either way, it was pointless for her...but now that she asked him with the use of the word "heartless"... "It seems that way," Keevan answered, "because here I am, dying and wishing I could have another chance." And if he could get that chance, he could take Annora O'Neal under his wing with or without the Founder's permission, of course. He knew he wanted her and didn't care what he had to do. "Dying never appealed to me in the first place, and it doesn't now."

 **Of speaking of why Keevan refused to die, DS9 writer Ronald D. Moore did say this: "Although Keevan may at some point be slated for cloning by the Dominion, the individual seen in 'Rocks and Shoals' would be dead and that certainly did not appeal to Keevan."**


	8. Amber Hearts, Paradise and Passion

**If anyone can make it out, the budding relationship between Keevan and Annora is a kind of "Beauty and the Beast" situation. :) Because it's just the two of them even if the Jem'Hadar don't care much, practically nonexistent in their moments.**

 **"Snow on the Sahara" by Sarah Brightman was the foundation for this story. :)**

Chapter Seven

Amber Hearts, Paradise and Passion

And they said when you look into another's eyes, you see their very soul. Gazing into Keevan's when he spoke of how death was not on his agenda despite it being necessary for everyone else - he had confirmed it all that he feared it and would not submit to it even if his injuries were as grievous as they were. Such determination she'd seen in the other warriors of the Federation that she did not ever expect to see in a Vorta.

"It sounds like you..." She lowered her voice so his Jem'Hadar wouldn't hear. Two were back to work on that communication system, and others were cleansing their weapons and equipment; two were absent, perhaps stationed at the cavern's front entrance. "...hate the Dominion now."

His eyes widened then as though shocked by her bold statement. "Hate? How could you assume I would despise my own people?" Those amethyst orbs flashed with a range of emotions from confliction and anger. "I serve the Dominion faithfully and loyally without any imperfection."

These Vorta were so sure of themselves that it made Annora snort again. "If you were, then you wouldn't be fearing death. Unless there's something you're not telling me about the Vorta." Oh, but she knew about their cloning methods; few people in the Federation knew that, but the universe would never be ready to see more faces of one of them at once. She just wanted to lure him into speaking it himself.

But Keevan caught on right away; his eyes were gleaming even brighter. "You already know the answer to that, Annora. My people are subjected to cloning, prolonging our lifespans and making our jobs easier. And if you are wondering -" His lulling smile was back in place. "- I am in my second incarnation. But don't bother asking me what became of my first," he warned, raising a single finger to her face. "The deaths of our predecessors are more hideous than any permanent scarification."

That she could understand, to live with scarring memories of losing a friend or loved one, perhaps a death of one version of yourself only to live with it in the next life. Annora could imagine how that felt. "I won't ask," she promised, keeping her eyes glued on his.

"Good." His eyes closed briefly before he reopened them. "Oh, I never noticed before."

He had changed the subject altogether and was now looking downwards, at her _chest_. For a moment, Annora was offended - he had the gall to look at her bust in that manner, no matter natural curiosity of a female's anatomy - but upon looking down, she saw her necklace revealed through her opened blouse neckline. The pendant was a heart-shaped, natural amber stone suspended on a silver chain which rested over her heart. She brought her hand up and placed it over to cover her heart, both the actual one and the necklace of the shape.

"Fascinating charm," Keevan mused. "Tell me about it."

Vorta were always interested in things that others would find not important or completely ridiculous, but for some reason, he actually meant it. After all, not everyone really commented her about her appearance, but most of all the little details like her jewelry. "It was a birthday present from Jeffrey after our first year together," she answered, enclosing her fingers around the charm which burned her skin. "He said that it was, and I quote, 'passion preserved permanently'. Because amber has existed since prehistoric times on Earth, perhaps longer, and that's what makes it so special. Everything is preserved forever."

"But not true passion." His eyes never seemed to stop glowing with knowledge, confidence, arrogance and...allure. He knew too much that it was getting harder and harder to hide her secrets from him.

"Why do you insist on prying into my marriage's privacy?" Annora asked, drawing back.

Keevan snorted. "I told you before, it's my business."

"Not good enough." Definitely not, but he wouldn't back down. It seemed he was determined to crack her as hard as possible.

"Lack of intimacy in married life is bound to end in disaster. I have those emotions and am not afraid to voice it." He took her aback with that passion. "But the sad fact is I have never attracted anyone I ever wanted despite the training I had in the art."

She blinked in surprise. Keevan was a virgin. The revelation made her flush again, the fire behind them having nothing to do with it this time...and now it made her feel sad to learn just now that she knew he had never been with a woman. The difference was that he seemed to know more about intimacy than she did. Did he actually feel sorry for her, too, that he was trying to get her to know the experience...

...that he _knew_ Jeffrey wasn't the man for her when he actually didn't know what kind of man her husband was?

Her mind started screaming at her again. She was married to a man who believed in the right thing, not daring to walk _that_ far on the wild side to sleep with the enemy! She tightened her hold on her necklace that she came back to life with the realization she would break the chain if she kept it up. She dropped her hand and let it fall into her lap. Keevan was eyeing her again with a blend of exasperation and distress.

"Annora, why do you refuse to walk on that side of life?" he asked. "See what you want and seize the opportunity. It appears to me that you did that with your life, but not with the one you are bound to share it with."

She was tempted to get up and leave again, but her will was overpowered. "Because real life love and mating doesn't work that way. It exists only in the imagination. Jeffrey was the one in front of me all the time, no matter the one I imagined in a dream as a child."

Now that turned out to be one step too far.

"I see," Keevan noted with the ghost of a smile, "that I understand you this way now. You want these hidden desires but can't achieve them because of what is in front of you, and the fact they are a long ways from where you stand. And a long way from crossing boundaries in your field. But that is where you are wrong. You've been with the wrong man all this time, Annora O'Neal."

~o~

Why was she trying to resist him so much? She was wasting her time, so why shouldn't she admit it? She was looking down again at the ground again, which Keevan had grown tired of. He reached out and took her chin into his fingers, but she pulled her head away.

"Don't touch me."

"Why not?" he countered. "Does my touch really bother you _that_ much? Because you're married? _I don't give a damn_ ," he growled taking her chin back into his grasp and keeping her face in place. Good, her eyes were wide with fear that she snapped his last thread and let loose the chaos. "What happened to the woman I knew before we crashed here? The one who wasn't afraid to daringly come into Dominion-Cardassian territory for what she wanted?"

Annora gritted her teeth when she answered him. "You don't even known me that well, Keevan. Besides what you think of me already."

"It's exactly the same thing, and I know you _enough_. I've served the Dominion faithfully long enough to know all of these things, even if my life is but a form of slavery." He lowered his voice enough to be heard between only him and her, though he could have sworn Third Remata'klan heard but would not dare to confront him this time. "That will not be a secret between you and I, I guarantee that. If I want something, I do what I must to take it...but don't assume I will force you to give in to me," he said softly when he sensed her body trembling as the truth settled into her being regarding the earlier discussion of desire. "If there is anything I won't do to you, it is forcing you to join with me so I can show you a better way of enjoying yourself as a being, with someone willing to make you feel more than you ever wanted. Do you understand what I am telling you?"

Her lips were parted as she let loose shaky breaths of air. His words were getting to her, perfect. Keevan smiled at her. "Good. Then it is clear that I will not harm you like the Jem'Hadar would. I only ask that you reconsider that one dire situation you got yourself in."

"And what was that?"

Keevan rolled his eyes and sighed in frustration. "Annora, don't toy with me again. All I'm saying is you won't leave your marriage if you want to. Of all the things in life you're afraid to do, this is the only issue."

"You're telling me to not care about hurting Jeffrey if I don't really love him." Her response was strangled; his magic of cracking her was coming full circle. He could hardly contain his delight. One step was near completion.

"It's because you don't, yes. Search it inside your heart, Annora, because you know it's true. There is another who wants you."

Her free hand was gathering enough of the thermal blanket in her lap when she questioned both curiously and aghast. "Would that be _you_?"

"Yes." Keevan wasn't afraid to tell her now, no longer fearing her stinging rejection now that they were too far down to turn back, but the actual linking was yet to come - and then, he wouldn't be able to let her go, and she wouldn't be able to get away from him. "I'm willing to wait for you, but know that I'm also willing to give you a chance at breaking free from your broken union."

 _But to stand with you in a ring of fire_  
 _I'll forget the days gone by_  
 _I'll protect your body and guard your soul_  
 _From mirages in your sight_  
 _Lost out in the desert_  
 _You are lost out in the desert_

She looked like she was too mortified to speak, internally struggling with a comeback and verbal rejection. But that was alright, because he could smell it all from her; her skin was starting to break out into sweat again, which was what his own was beginning to do now. He wondered what time of day it was now that he wanted to go to sleep now, given she had just gotten back from her bath outside, deciding his own could wait until morning. "First, has night fallen yet?"

"The sun has just set, sir."

"Then leave this area alone for the night. Establish the troops on guard outside this part as well as the cave entrance. I won't need you for the rest of the night." The Jem'Hadar affirmed before ordering his men to take the equipment out of here to give their leader and the prisoner privacy. Keevan sighed; finally, it was just him and Annora, who appeared more nervous than ever. "Don't be afraid of me, please."

"I'm not afraid of you." Her words were too shaky to be strong. He shook his head.

"Of course you're not. But comfort yourself with the knowledge I won't take full advantage of you, because I'm in too much pain to move." He shifted his position so his body was angled to his right, away from her; the pain had yet to return, and perhaps it would either through the night or in the morning as soon as he woke. "Stay with me for the night, that's all I ask of you for today now."

She snorted. "Share that bed with you and get your wound going again?" Annora scoffed.

"Of course not. Just...beside me if you must. So I know you are still here." He shivered when the sweat pouring from his warm flesh began to cool him as though he was having a fever. The scent reached his nostrils that he wouldn't be surprised if his shirt got stained with it.

~o~

"Annora, I don't feel like I will sleep this way." He shifted uncomfortably in his position he established. "Is there a way you can help me get..." He raised his hand and tugged on his shirt at the chest. "...this off so my body can breathe?"

If the sun had just set, then it must not be that late, and Annora was not the least bit tired. She wasn't sure if she could sleep tonight now that her body and mind were full of this creature who had succeeded in getting the truth about her marriage to Jeffrey out of her. The situation had gotten more dangerous now that Keevan was in control and she wasn't...but at the same time, it was like a part of herself had faded with the lie she had been living. Keevan wasn't fooled from the beginning. And men like him were dangerous.

But now, with her taking care of him after he had been hurt in the wreckage, she couldn't hate him entirely. She didn't want him to die because he hadn't really harmed her himself, and he had so far made sure his men wouldn't do it themselves. She should at least be grateful for that.

Then her eyes fell on him fidgeting with his shirt, which was beginning to make him sweat like she was. He looked so fragile in his state that she found it not a bad look for him, but not in the cruel sense. Annora folded up the blanket with the berries still inside and set it down so she could reach back over and help him raise himself up so she could lift his shirt from the bottom and pull it up and over his head, exposing his chest and the bandaged wounded side to her very eyes.

She dropped the shirt to the ground when she drank in the sight of his lightly muscled but slender body, shining with perspiration and heaving up and down with each breath he took. Keevan's eyes were wide and wild with a languid glow that no longer scared her but made her have the butterflies in her stomach she hadn't felt since she was a teenager when she and Mia would giggle and swoon over the men in literature and media. "Uh..." Why did _that_ word out of all the words she could have said slip out?

"What?" Keevan's mouth twitched at one corner. "Anything on your mind?"

"No." She quickly reached down to pick his fallen shirt up and fold it neatly after dusting it off, reaching over to raise his head so she could place it behind for a substitute as a pillow. His hair felt as silky as it looked. "Is that better than the rock?"

He nodded, sighing and closing his eyes. "Much."

"Anything else I can do for you?"

His eyes reopened. "How about a kiss?"

Annora hesitated. She tried telling herself a kiss wasn't bad, not that it would be terrible to kiss those soft-looking lips the Vorta had...but her heart started beating again. Keevan's eyes fell to the middle of her chest again as though hearing it from the first beat to now. "Don't worry; it's only a good night kiss, Annora. I won't be too harsh on you," he promised, reaching up to her chest and placing his hand over her heart then, the amber heart matching the center of his palm, the warm stone suddenly enflaming between her chest and his hand as though _connecting them._

The tempo of her heart picked up faster than she was aware of it, and before she, too, was conscious of her actions - and due to Keevan's delicate hand still placed over her rapidly thumping heart - she leaned over and allowed her lips to part and convolute with his.

 _Dear sweet God..._

How could this feel so good and so wrong at the same time? Here she was, kissing someone who was her enemy, but it proved better than kissing her husband now that she compared and contrasted. Keevan's lips were soft and tasted like some sort of berry of all things - and she was hungry for more. Did all Vorta have this effect on humans and humanoids alike? Her brain was washed over and deprived of anything reasonable; she leaned over him, her body shifting but trying not to touch his wounded side, and her hands placed themselves on either side of his head for leverage as she deepened the kiss. Keevan's tongue sneaked out and into her mouth, finding her tongue and wrapping itself around hers, entwining without shame. His moans were real and magical of their own will, and his hands came up to place themselves on her hips, squeezing the curves and bringing her body closer to his...

She didn't want to, but she had to break the kiss to bring air back into her lungs. Her lips felt swollen and flushed with her cheeks, and from what she could see, Keevan's was the same. He was looking at her expectantly, waiting for her to tell him what she thought. How could she answer? "I...have to get some air," she said, quickly jumping up and leaving the area, running through the entranceway the Jem'Hadar had gone through.

"Prisoner!" one of them called upon spotting her as she strolled down the tunnel, following her at a short distance.

She held up her hand behind. "I'm not escaping; I just need some air." When she finally got to the end of the tunnel, there was darkening colors ranging from royal blue to black, and upon reaching the whole outdoors, she looked up and saw two moons glowing like the pearls in her ring that she wore on the first finger of her right hand. A chill rushed over her face, partially exposed chest and bared arms; the goosebumps were back, sending more of the trouble down her spine. The landscape was a mostly barren landscape, isolated and desolate, filled with some life and greenery, and water to give life as well as to sustain.

Enough life to last until rescue - if any - came along.

 _If your hopes scatter like the dust across your track_  
 _I'll be the moon that shines on your path_  
 _The sun may blind our eyes, I'll pray the skies above_  
 _For snow to fall on the Sahara_

Annora reached up to button her blouse up by two to cover more of her skin. She wasn't shivering just because of the desert night; she was shivering because of the memory of her kiss with Keevan. The tantalization remained in her nerves, haunting her every being. Now that she thought of it, it was just as exciting as it was every time she defied orders and set out rogue.

She reached up and placed her finger to her lower lip at the lingering feeling of Keevan's tongue tracing it and then getting inside her mouth. When she did, she found herself staring at the previously mentioned ring, which was pure moonlit paradise with three pearls in an ornate silver band. It had been a wedding present from her uncle. He'd told her that it would make her long for the perfect escape to Risa or any paradise system in the galaxy - and here she was, on a secluded but exotic desert planet where she had just shared a kiss with a Vorta and began to feel something that she had never thought possible.

 _If that's the only place where you can leave your doubts  
_ _I'll hold you up and be your way out_  
 _And if we burn away, I'll pray the skies above_  
 _For snow to fall on the Sahara_

~o~

His sleep had replayed the dream last night, but unlike last time, it finished. If his memory was correct, after he unfastened Annora's undergarments, his hands explored her body from her small, arched back to the front after gracing her sides. Her stomach had been firm and flat as his, but when he got to her breasts...

His stomach tingled. It was as though he'd actually _touched_ her breasts; Weyoun had told him women's breasts were one key factor to her arousal, being part of foreplay from kissing and caressing, but all of that was beside the point. In his dream, she'd shrugged her shirt off altogether and exposed her breasts to him, then leaned down for him to take a nipple into his mouth, which he remembered tasting exquisite, and while his mouth worked on it, she'd shrugged off her pants so she'd been naked on top of him; his own body had begun to tighten and flare with fire, aching for hers, and his lower body was proof to her. She'd tugged his pants off and exposed him to her so they could get to the important part which he'd waited so long for...

And then he awoke with a start, staring again at the jagged ceiling, panting for air and shivering. He looked down and saw his torso bared and remembered asking Annora to remove it to keep his shirt from getting stained with his own sweat. He breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed in his position; no pain yet, but it would come eventually. What time was it anyway?

He looked down to his side, on the ground, when he heard soft snoring. Chuckling to himself and keeping the volume low to not disturb the sleeper, he saw the source was none other than Annora. She had run away from him after their kiss, which he had not forgotten by the slightest...or the true taste he finally got to experience, and it by far exceeded his dream. In fact, no words did its sweetness or her satin-smooth lips justice. Looking her over, seeing her sleeping on her side and away from him - she had one thermal blanket spread beneath her while another covered her body - he also spotted her arms and her shoulders bare, giving away the obvious fact she slept with no clothes on. The thought made him crack a devious smirk as he wondered if she looked as he also dreamed.

But first, Keevan experimented his strength by turning all the way on his side so he was leaning far over the edge of his rock bed enough to reach Annora. He was pleased that nothing in his side hurt yet, but there was not enough time. He extended his arm, and to his delight, he reached her at perfect arm's length - but then he drew his arm back immediately when she sighed and turned onto his back, but she remained asleep. Her other arm curved and rested atop of her head, some curls of hair over one shoulder while the rest remained behind her head...and both her arms gave him the opportunity to reach over and grasp the blanket, drawing it down without trouble.

Her body was exactly as he remembered; Keevan had stopped the blanket at her waist, deciding that he could wait and see until they linked. She was spotless and stunning. Her sides were slim, abdomen flat, and her breasts pert. He could hardly wait to touch her without thoroughly violating, because that was never a level he would resort to, but he had to see if she was as he imagined she felt like. Keevan made the daring gesture of reaching down and gently placing his hand on her stomach, rubbing it in small circles and moving upwards until he cupped her right breast -

Oh, she was exquisite in his hand, and fit him all the way. Keevan closed his eyes as he fondled her breast tenderly, eliciting a moan from her and forcing him to open one eye to a slit and seeing her still sleeping. She was soft yet firm beneath his palm, the nipple soft for now, but perhaps if he increased the pressure...

He stopped upon hearing her speak, quickly and unwillingly letting her go and drawing the blanket back over her body to hide her modesty. Annora still didn't wake, but the _name_ that escaped her mouth was unmistakeable and surprising at the same time.

" _Keevan..._ "


	9. The Calm Before the Storm

**The chapter title has been used before, but I thought it fit for what transpires here - and the last of "Snow on the Sahara" is present. Enjoy.**

Chapter Eight

The Calm Before the Storm

Annora was dreaming about _him_.

He didn't know how to take all of this in, but at the same time, it made him swell inside. She was dreaming about him, whatever it was, and not her husband. Another step down, who knew how many more to go.

He could spend all night - or all morning? - looking down at her while she slept, but he had to rest more, try to go back to sleep. He closed his eyes and sighed to himself, praying for more sleep to come. Unfortunately, it failed, because of the heat in his body that had been there since long before he allowed his hand to grasp that one part of her body which many men found irresistible.

Keevan looked down and saw the obvious arousal growing, thanks to both the dream and Annora. Perfect, again.

He hadn't even touched himself since the third and final night Weyoun instructed him in the art of sexual technique; it had become clear to him then that giving yourself the pleasure wouldn't allow you the ability to become so by your partner. But right now, the pressure in his groin was unbearable that he had to relieve it, or else he would never go back to sleep.

His Jem'Hadar were still nowhere to be seen, but he wasn't taking the chance of letting his loins stir painfully any longer. Biting his lip to keep a groan from escaping, Keevan raised a hand and ghosted it over his stomach, his insides tingling, and reached the hem of his pants, his fingers slipping beneath the waistband and finding his raging desire.

~o~

Her body felt irritated at coming out of its dream state. She had slept on the ground before in these situations, in Cardassian-styled beds and so on - nothing bothered her anymore, but upon waking up and her body twitching with a pleasant feeling she hadn't felt for so long, it was ruined upon hearing the painful whimpering above her.

She was laying on her back when she caught part of Keevan's body on the rocky bed above her, writhing slowly but painfully, crying. She bolted up right away and wrapped her blanket around her as she stood and looked down at him half-dressed and flinching. He couldn't just be having a nightmare; the medicine effects wore off, and he needed more. "Keevan," she whispered, leaning down and touching his arm, squeezing it and shaking him gently. "Keevan, wake up. It's me."

His eyelids creased before softening and opening, looking up at her right away. "A-Annora, it hurts," he croaked out. "I n-n-need my..." He trailed off pitifully, biting his lower lip and looking like a child who needed his mother's attention. She left him there and knelt down to pull her bag in her direction, pulling out the med kit and fishing out the analgesics, perching down beside him again.

Keevan sighed with relief when his bandages were changed after the pain relievers were administered. "Ah, that's better." His face had been away from hers, and now it turned back to look up at her. "I never did thank you."

"For what?" she asked, shoving the filthy wrappings inside, hoping to dispose of them upon rescue. She knew what he meant.

"Pulling me out of the wreckage, saving my life and keeping me alive this far," Keevan answered softly, reaching over and taking her hand into his, his fingers wrapping around her closed fist. His thumb massaged the vein on the back of her hand. "My sincerest gratitude."

"I couldn't just leave you back there."

"And for that, I owe you my life."

He spoke as though he were a noble, fallen warrior cared for by the woman whose life he saved. Well, come to think of it, he was no Vorta she ever met before the last day. He meant every word he said - but there was no telling how many others he deceived for his own sake and that of his people. "You're welcome," was all she could say.

"And speaking of which, should I be owed something in return?"

Annora stiffened. What did he mean by _owe_ him? He laughed then upon seeing her body language as well as her face. "Oh, not at all whatever you're thinking. I'm just saying perhaps we could pass the time by you...reading to me any of your past tales you brought with you. I wouldn't be surprised if you did."

She did bring her novel with her, some of her news articles she brought for the hell of it as well as the empty one she wanted for her newest one, which had all been in vain and an absolute waste after all. She might as well led Captain Sisko and the crew to their deaths even if Uncle Bill asked them to find her instead. "What story do you want to hear?"

"Anything that you feel upmost confident with sharing with me," Keevan told her with an easy smile, relaxing her on the spot. He frowned then. "But that would depend on what the time is now, now that I remember."

Boots thudded the ground behind them. It was First Tirak'iklan followed by Third Remata'klan. "The sun has arisen, Commander," they both said in unison, impressing her, before the First had his solo turn. "We're continuing work on the communication system as soon as possible."

"Good." Keevan nodded. "The sooner, the better."

"The sooner the better," Annora agreed. She could see rescue coming now, but that would mean she would end up in Dominion territory, perhaps on Deep Space 9 now called Terok Nor now that their presence was there. She tried to prepare herself for whatever fate lay awaiting her there...but on the upside, she would be with Keevan.

IF his Founders granted him that permission.

"Now, about that story?" Keevan asked once they were gone, and she looked back up at him. His smile was beaming along with his eyes.

"Well, I take it you read all of my previous news articles." He nodded. "I'm currently working on a novel, though I don't have a title yet. It's about the unlawful but torrid love of a psychiatrist and her patient, a serial killer convicted by reasons of insanity for the murder of two women he had been with only for each of them to end badly - and he didn't take it well, so he killed them. But the courts didn't give him life imprisonment, and he was assigned to a young woman recently graduated from university and is given him as her first patient. He sees her as his one last chance, and she's never had a taste of danger in her life." Rarely did anyone, even Jeffrey, ask her about her novel, but when she talked about this newest one, she felt herself light up with pride because she knew it would sell, because all her previous ones did.

And Keevan looked like he was piqued with intrigue. He hadn't once interrupted her to ask questions like some did, choosing to wait until she was finished. "Now...that is what I would call a fascinating story."

She'd gotten similar responses, but those who wanted to read her story before it was even completed, she couldn't trust their judgement because she knew they would say something she didn't expect altogether. But with Keevan...these creatures were very intelligent compared to other beings she encountered. Other alien humanoids were, but the Vorta knew how to exhibit and sense emotions, turn the tables, and so many talents. They were always ahead of everyone, always curious and eager to learn.

"Please read to me, Annora. I want to hear every detail - but first -" He paused and inhaled through his nostrils. "- would a cleaning up be too much to ask?"

He was asking her to give him a bath, not that she blamed him. He needed one, but she also felt embarrassed. That meant she would get to see him naked and handle everything herself; he trusted her for it and not his Jem'Hadar, because they weren't made that way. The spring was under a mile away, but by moving him meant getting his injuries going again. She'd have to bring the med kit with her. All of it for four hundred feet on foot, and first she needed to feed them both with the berries from yesterday that were saved. "I'll take you to where I went yesterday, but it's going to be a hell of a travel on foot that I'd have to get two of your men to carry you."

He rolled his eyes, not happy with that part of the situation. "Of course. Which means you will have to do the honors of helping me out of my clothes before we go out. I would rather be out of them already and breathing the air than wasting time getting undressed out there in the smoldering heat."

Annora was shocked at his boldness in asking her to get him undressed...which meant she would be seeing the rest of him besides his magnificent torso. Now that was one step too far. "Keevan," she started, "your men might not like that -"

"But they won't dare to back away from me," he said strongly, amethyst eyes matching. "They'll obey my orders to carry me if they must. At this point, I don't care about their respect, only that I get one thing I want to keep myself in partially perfect condition." Then his eyes fell to the ground in which the blankets still lay, as well as the one she was still wrapped in - and she was still naked, too, which made him smirk. "I guess we both could use the same bath together, unless you object."

She could use one, yes, but this meant being in the nude with a man who wasn't her husband. And she might dare to cross lines, but she was also self-conscious about her body. "I don't know about sharing one with you," she whispered harshly, in case any Jem'Hadar eavesdropped, "because I won't allow another man to see me."

Keevan knew she would say that, because he rolled his eyes again and sighed loudly. "Annora, I won't take pleasure in taking advantage of you, remember? You're supposed to take care of me, or have you forgotten that, too? We don't have to resort to that certain stage just yet. Now, can you please help me?"

Her cheeks were on fire when she started at the end where she helped him get his boots off, showing small, dainty feet and toes. She returned to his side but stopped when she reached for the waistband. His hands grasped her wrists and held them again, feeling her pulse quicken beneath his hold again. "Don't be afraid, Annora. This might be the last time I tell you this," he warned. Releasing her hands, he shifted his hips up for her to latch her hands around his waistband, preparing to pull it down only for her knuckles to brush against something soft and fluffy in the front - _Keevan's pubic hair._

She wanted to pull her hand away, but found she couldn't. Instead, she pulled his pants down all the way and tugged them off from around his ankles, keeping her eyes off his completely naked form the whole time. "Annora," Keevan said, his voice soft and dangerous before rising a couple levels. "Won't you even _look_ at me like the brave girl you are?!"

She jumped and looked at his face again, seeing it firm as stone before softening upon seeing her reddened cheeks. "It's all right to look; you don't have to touch me just yet." Annora nodded, lowering her eyes and seeing the upper body which still made her flush, but then she saw his hips and pelvic area - as well as his member, which was slender and impressive, the curls light and feathery in both appearance and touch. The more she looked at him, the more her lower stomach tingled and pooled liquid heat. She was tempted to lean over and...

She stopped herself. She didn't even like doing that to Jeffrey, which he understood but had been hurt as much as he tried to hide it from her, so she couldn't take that chance with Keevan. She stood up and gathered her boots, pulling them on as well as grasping the other blanket, to wrap him up. She had to admit, as much as it shocked her, Keevan had a remarkable body to look at...and even better than her husband's.

"First, Third?" she called for him, and they came. "Can you get us to the spring?"

Walking naked and wearing a blanket and her boots wasn't so bad, now that she thought of it. The sun bore down on her bared arms and shoulders, and her legs which popped through the slit of the side of her wrap-around, and she walked beside both Jem'Hadar carrying Keevan the best they could, though his blanket around his body came undone beneath and bared his entire back, but good thing no one could see him. Annora couldn't help but giggle to herself as she conjured up the image of the blanket falling off and showing Keevan naked to his two best soldiers. Perhaps serve him right for how he treated Remata'klan.

She also brought the med kit with her in case he needed more tending to while they were here. "We arrived at our destination," Tirak'iklan informed the Third and their Vorta commander, pausing three feet before the spring which glimmered a silvery toned turquoise underneath the cloudless sky. Remata'klan nodded wordlessly; he held Keevan underneath the arms and helped him stand, but when he did, Keevan wobbled on his legs and grimaced.

"I don't need your help to stand, Third, or from you, First. Mrs. O'Neal can manage." He looked at her with a knowing grin, winking and making her look down at the ground. "Won't you, Annora?"

She nodded and walked over, after setting down the medical kit on the smaller rock beside the larger one on the edge before the water. "Yes. Gentlemen, you can turn your heads away until we finish." His eyes were so wet she thought they were like real water - or like he was going to cry at any second. She reached out with both hands for him to take, but he struggled with walking that he fell forward and onto her, allowing her to wrap her arms around him. As a consequence, his blanket fell from his body and pooled around his feet; the Jem'Hadar quickly turned their backs to them at once. Annora felt uncomfortable now, "hugging" a naked Vorta in the middle of a desert, but now she could assume that she had to be the same way. Shifting her torso back and lifting her underarms up, her own thermal blanket slid down and exposed her body to his as well, the skin-on-skin contact jolting their nerves like electrical charges connecting them to life.

 _Just a wish and I will cover your shoulders  
With veils of silk and gold_  
 _When the shadows come and darken your heart_  
 _Leaving you regrets so cold_  
 _Lost out in the desert_  
 _You are lost out in the desert_

Keevan chuckled, shaking on his legs but shifting his body backwards slightly so he could take a brief look down at her. "How does it feel now?"

Annora shook her head. "Let's just get this over with." She wanted to say it felt...well, what was the right word? She _liked_ it, but she would have enjoyed it more had his Jem'Hadar not been present, and if he wasn't hurt in the side. "Come on; I'll help you." She wrapped his arm around her shoulder and her own around his waist, leading him over to the great rock so he could sit and watch as she knelt down to tug her boots off; he was still watching her the whole time, but it wasn't perverted in any sense of the word, just dazed. She returned to him and repeated the ritual of aiding him, walking slowly to the water edge together and stepping in, the cold water making them both wobble and nearly fall in; Keevan mostly, but he held onto her.

"Oh, cold!" he exclaimed, his arms still around her shoulders. He shivered audibly and physically against hers. She let him act it out for a little bit until he relaxed and sighed, leaning against her, burying his face into the area where her neck and shoulder met. "Ah, but I love the feel of it. I haven't felt like this in a long while, Annora. Have you ever enjoyed anything like this?"

Annora couldn't help but laugh now that this moment had grown more relaxing. She let him go with one arm and gathered some water into her palm before bringing it up to splash onto his back. Keevan shuddered again at the cool, wet contact on his skin and his moans of approval. "Sometimes, but not all the time. Jeffrey and I went to Risa after we graduated, and that was ever the only time I remember us having true fun." Sadly, it was all but a sad memory.

"Mmm." Keevan turned his face away from her neck, though the vibrations lingered. "It's a pity that we 'solids' can enjoy such trivial experiences while the Founders savor their Great Link."

"'Solids'?" Annora repeated, shrugging herself away to make eye contact with him, but he had enough strength to put his finger over her lips and bumped against her to lead the way to the great rock behind them, which provided privacy for them to swim over together and whisper. Keevan had his back against for support as he answered her, Annora keeping her chest underwater but still boasting her upper curves, which Keevan looked at briefly as he spoke.

"They're viewed as outsiders who don't see the joys of the Great Link." He made a noise that combined a scoff and a laugh. "Or so I was told as soon as I was activated."

"Well 'solids' aren't as bad as they think." By the sound of it, the Founders relished controlling his people's lives and subjecting them to cloning as an example of the rest. He nodded.

"Of course, but unfortunately, they're too proud. My people are examples of them taking it out on the monoformed beings." He was doing a hell of a fine job keeping his voice down because two of his men were nearby...and the bitterness and loathing was evident.

Annora, however, found it hard because of her rage and disgust at those Changelings, those creatures who had been feared by "solids" centuries ago and were to be so now that they took it above that level the solids raised over them. "That's an abomination, racist and inexplicably disgusting!" She lowered her voice when he narrowed his eyes, silently warning her. "I mean, all beings have flaws, but you can't hate all of them."

Keevan nodded somberly. "Quite so. From my knowledge of the Changelings, they were amongst the stars of the galaxy which would, on occasion, visit other lifeforms to learn and understand them. They meant for peace, but the solids mistrusted and feared them, often resorting to violence against them. Now the Founders choose to live as one form, known as the Great Link, but only on rare occasions, they would leave to do what they did best. Now they live on conquering other worlds and beings. But they do not do it alone; they have my people and the Jem'Hadar, both of us genetically engineered."

"So they created you, tweaked your genes and very being to obey them unless you're willing to risk your own life?" Annora felt inclined to duck her head underwater to tune out this vile story, but she had to hear it. Enslaving an entire race had occured on numerous occasions, lasting for years at a time, never knowing how long it would last to be honest, and each one got worse every time. Look at Bajor, for example, and the Holocaust of the depression era on Earth.

"Precisely." Keevan's eyes flared like purple fire. "The hunted now control the destiny of hundreds of others; what you can control can't hurt you. The simple motive behind their actions is the fact that the solids always posed a threat to them."

She shook her head again. This war had to be won by the Federation and soon, and these monsters brought to justice for their crimes. Now that she knew enough she could, now she could say to herself that Keevan wasn't all that bad - but what was the true story behind his people? "Tell me about your people and how the Changelings brought them in."

~o~

He was apparently the only one to doubt the origin of his people before the Founders "changed" them into what they were now. That tale was only an illusion just to keep the Vorta indebted about the fact that they were better than they were centuries ago; at least, he believed so. Nevertheless, he told Annora anyway.

"Well, you can say that back in those much older days, the more primitive ones, we were smaller than we are now, more animalistic but softer in nature," he said without managing the slightest hint of a smile, leaning his head a little more into the rock and turning his face halfway away from her and staring out into the sunlit water, his body warming a little more underneath the surface, "and nothing more than apes you would find on your homeworld. We lived idyllic lives, living in hollowed trees, surviving off the wild vegetation and as prey for savages. Our music was natural magic that you never heard anywhere else...but our lives changed one day when a Changeling stumbled into it.

"He had been on the run from solids, so you can see the irony in his situation. But one of our families hid him and saved his life, though sadly, the way I see it, their hearts of gold clouded their judgement when it came to the Changeling offering them a promise of a better future for them one day - and look at us now," he finished, turning his attention back to her, seeing her brown eyes wide and her jaw tighter than before. She had looked like this the whole time of his side of the stories everyone in the universe knew about the Dominion.

"That family should never have saved him then," Annora said softly, shaking her head so some of her hair swished atop the water surface. "Otherwise, you would have remained happy, wild and free from all of this."

"But then we would never be as we are now, humanoid and sophisticated. I would never have met you," Keevan told her sincerely, leaning forward and nuzzling his nose against hers. Remembering her touch and her arms around him, he felt such peace that hadn't existed since Weyoun's teachings. Being around her brought happiness that he never thought possible. He didn't want to leave this spot so soon because right now he was pouring every bit of himself out to her, because he couldn't stand her hating him since she knew nothing about him and his people besides what she already acknowledged.

He kissed her again, this one being the second time, and getting more insatiable every time. It was like he had waited all his life for something like this; he wasn't fooled that she didn't like this any more than he did. She was starting to enjoy this as much as he was.

But now they had to finish their shared bath and return to the cavern. Keevan felt like he was getting a tad weaker as she helped him out and seated him on the rock so she could dry him up. While she did - and his Jem'Hadar keeping their backs turned - Keevan looked her over and admired the entire view of her beautiful body. It was a shame that a man like her husband wasn't lucky enough to give that the blessing it deserved.

The moment he found his eyes meeting the representation of her femininity, they also spotted something to the left, imprinted in her left hip though inside and near her nest of curls. He frowned when he could not understand what it was. "Care to tell me what your marking is?" he asked, keeping his eyes on it and squinting.

She was just wrapping her own blanket around her when he asked her, frowning when she didn't know what he meant before realization etched in her features. "Oh, it's my tattoo. It's called the Trinity. On Earth in ancient times, in a country called Ireland, it is a three-pointed emblem which represents eternal life and everlasting love. All things that can never be broken, as well as provides protection."

That very definition raptured him right away. Eternity...no beginning and no end. That was what he loved. Now he was laid back on that hell of a bed in the cave, returning underground after a couple hours of being under the sun, breathing fresh air and bathing in pristine water. Such luxuries were rare when you served the Dominion - but one blessing was eternal life, though that would be until his line was terminated, either if the Founders saw fit, or if the cloning facilities were destroyed by the Federation. He wouldn't pretend it wouldn't happen when it always could.

Which was why he would do everything he could, with Annora's help, to stay alive even if his injuries got worse without that damned needed surgery.

"Before we get to my book," she said as she redressed, his men not bothering to look at her and concentrated on work - she didn't seem to mind now, for some reason - and Keevan lay on his makeshift bed, still naked but covered by his thermal blanket still wet on one side but drier on the other, the latter side keeping him warm, "I'm going back out to get more food and water."

Keevan laughed before coughing a little; he hadn't done that in awhile. "We certainly don't want to starve now, would we?" He tried to reach for her bag but found that he couldn't reach it. "Oh, may I do the honors of reading some of your story while you are out?"

She winked and dragged her bag over and fumbled around until she pulled a PADD out, turning it on and handing it over to him. "Enjoy," she told him with a little wink before turning and leaving, escorted by Fifth Soran'ilan, and an empty bucket to bring water from the spring back. Keevan smiled and waited until she was gone to bark over to First Tirak'iklan.

"I want your help to find anything on her in her possessions that would look suspicious."

He still had it inside him that there was more than her mission at the white facility than she told him, as much as it wounded him to invade her privacy, but what little loyalty he had to the Dominion resided enough to find anything else dangerous she might have possessed.

It seemed the novel would have to wait. He just had to know and satisfy his itching curiosity.

"I believe this might satisfy you, sir," Tirak'iklan said, holding up a PADD he had uncovered and handed it to him. "And the both of us. But it's what you were looking for."

The PADD was a journal entry, dated two days ago...and what he read left him feeling utterly betrayed and his suspicions confirmed.

 _I have never cared how anyone thought of me, but to be refused on the spot about going to the discovered ketracel-white facility myself by Uncle Bill is the last straw. I'm taking matters into my own hands and saving the lives of Captain Sisko and the others not only for myself and this newest story of a lifetime for all to see, but for the people killed by Jem'Hadar and Cardassians every day. Three days ago, I was refused by my own uncle, Admiral Ross, but somehow I should have expected it. But that won't stop me. For all I know, I might be called the hero for once besides from simply delivering the reports, not that I would call myself that or anything._

 _I just pray it goes as I hope it does. But if I lose my life, then it would be either way: I tried to make a difference by dying after blowing up that storage facility for those monsters, or I was a fool to go alone and crossed the line for sure this time. I accept either one._

He dropped the PADD onto his lap, squeezing his eyes shut and suppressing another onslaught of coughing. So, Annora DID lie to him on one occasion; she meant to _destroy_ the facility herself with that little runabout of hers, not just get the story herself. She thought she could be the hero for once for her people - and she was the niece of Starfleet Admiral William Ross, it turned out. She lied...she _lied_...those words kept repeating over and over in his head that he didn't notice First Tirak'iklan take the PADD to read himself again.

"She's deceived us all then, Commander. When she gets back, what would you have me do?"

Keevan reopened his eyes, already knowing the answer. He still had those feelings for her, but he also didn't want her injured in any way. "Leave her with me, and if things get out of hand, restrain her but _do not kill her,_ " he said through gritted teeth, and the Jem'Hadar nodded his affirmative. "Leave for now until I call you."

Time elapsed, but he wasn't sure how much since it felt like an eternity, and then he heard the footsteps again, seeing _her_ enter the area, carrying the bucket of water and more berries in her wrapping. "Got enough to last all day, and since I don't know how long it takes for more berries to grow in whatever this time of season is -" She was setting the bucket down beside the fire and kneeling down to unwrap the gathered food before Keevan's patience was lost; he couldn't stand another minute of waiting.

"You _lied_ to me, Annora," he hissed angrily.

 **Ooops, trouble. :O Things get even more heated in the next chapter. Stay tuned!**


	10. Outbreak

**In the last chapter mentioned was the Celtic Trinity knot, which is Annora's tattoo - in my last story, Mia has a Celtic emblem on her body, too, called the Dara knot. The Trinity is also known as the "love knot". :D All things in life everlasting...including love.**

Chapter Nine

Outbreak

Keevan was angry, his sudden hostility taking her off at once. Her body stiffened that she struggled to tear her gaze from his and failed.

"What are you talking about?" Annora asked softly, feeling her heart thump harder as she looked into Keevan's eyes, glaring with more fire than the one before them; the flames flickering off the irises made him look like a menacing devil that he and his people were called. Even when he was too weak to move, he was still overpowering.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," he said acidly, "and don't presume to think you can trick me otherwise. Perhaps this will refresh your memory." He held up the PADD and out to her; Annora thought, for the slightest moment that he was only tricking her, so she reached out for it only for him to pull it back and raise it to his face, reading it aloud.

"'I'm taking matters into my own hands and saving the lives of Captain Sisko and the others not only for myself and this newest story of a lifetime for all to see, but for the people killed by Jem'Hadar and Cardassians every day.'" He paused there and looked up at her expectantly, the animosity in his face still present. "Now do you recall, Annora? Your foolproof plan to not only get your headline but to DESTROY the facilities yourself? Fourth Limara'son should have investigated you sooner if not for the fact we were under attack by your uncle's rescue team."

Annora wanted to stand but found she couldn't. How could she have been so stupid to leave? And why didn't he look into her sooner then? "You're calling me a spy now, after all," she said, keeping her voice low again, now calling this a match of the wills, their earlier comforts gone. Right now they were the enemies they were in the beginning. "Satisfied or disappointed?"

Keevan's lip curled. "Both. I wish I could order your death, but I can't. I always know how to take something like this -" He held up the PADD that was her recent journal entry for herself that she had brought with her for the ride and should have paid better mind to - but too late for regrets now. "- but now I do not know, now that you are involved in this. It doesn't surprise me that Admiral William Ross is your uncle...or the fact you are somehow acquainted with Captain Benjamin Sisko and his little crew."

Annora slowly stood up now, her strength returning to her legs. Her hands curled into fists on either side of her, her nails piercing through her skin enough to draw a little blood. "The last fleet sent out had one hundred and twelve, and only fourteen came back; my people are dying every day because of YOURS!" she exploded. "I decided to spare the lives of one crew myself because I can't take holding back and doing nothing in the field any longer!"

He burst out laughing only to end in coughing fits again that his cheeks puffed as he tightened his lips to keep them in. Once they died down, he looked up at her with a cruel smile. "When you're not even a solider," he answered insolently. "It was brave and foolish of you, in case you forgot that I called you that once before we crashed on this barren planet. And I thought I would never call you that again after all our time together."

Gritting her teeth, Annora answered hotly, "But I AM good with weapons. I was taught in defense and self-defense, but you haven't seen me yet. You'd like to see me against one of your Jem'Hadar that I challenge now."

Too late, she realized the mistake she made in saying those words; she only meant to intimidate him, but it only made him laugh. And her mind shouted at her for being an idiot; she could take on a Klingon and a Breen be it either one separate or together, but a Jem'Hadar was even more powerful unless she had such luck of kicking him in the vulnerable spot between his legs. "You won't last against a Jem'Hadar, and what _would_ you gain out of this now that the truth is out? I'm willing to let this slide now even though it still pains me to live with this treachery," he said with a purring edge to the mocking hurt in his face and voice, waving the PADD at her, "only if you are."

She never let anything in her life slide THAT easily. Shaking her head, Annora stepped back. "You're wrong about me letting this go easily, Keevan. This is the one side of me you never thought of until now. So what, I failed to do what you discovered, and I still didn't get my story. But what will happen now once we ever get rescued? You take me prisoner, where my life as I know it ends - or perhaps the Founder has me executed, which I suppose is better and faster than life imprisonment. You wouldn't like that, would you?" She smirked at his twisting features; she was pushing too many of his buttons at the same time. "Perhaps our time together won't last any longer than on this planet."

"I'll get what I want in the end, even if the Founder orders my execution, and my successor will carry my memories even if they include you," Keevan seethed, "and I don't care if it has all been a waste of time. I never stop until I accomplish my task."

For only a moment, she let her guard down and analyzed the meaning behind his words as well as their past moments together. Keevan wanted her, and he wanted her since the moment she was taken prisoner aboard his ship - he _always_ wanted her. He had helped her open her eyes about rushing into marriage so soon without a rush of thrill, he protected her from being bruised by his Jem'Hadar...and he made her feel a way that her husband never could. It was all too much, especially since he'd now seen proof of her hiding the other, most important part of her failed mission.

She couldn't take him right now and turned to duck through the entranceway, ignoring Keevan's angry call. "Just where do you think you are going? I did not say you could leave!"

She could leave if she wanted to; not even him or his guards could stop here. She couldn't believe any of this, much less let him touch and kiss her! All she wanted was to go outside and enjoy the day, perhaps stroll even if she wasn't allowed to leave the area -

"Hold it right there."

There was the click of a phaser rifle behind her head, and she stopped where she was. "First," she stated, already knowing who it was. "What are you waiting for? Kill me right now, see if it spares your master the trouble." She had never dared a savage warrior to kill her before; even if anyone did, they were immediately shot on sight. But the fire never came. Annora slowly turned around and faced him herself, seeing him lower the weapon back into its place -

\- only to shriek when pain gashed across her right lower arm. Tirak'iklan had drawn his combat knife. Once she was stunned enough, he grasped her throat with his free hand and tightened his fingers around enough to nearly crush her esophagus. Her vision flashed with black and white dots, and she couldn't breathe.

"I will kill you, alright," Tirak'iklan growled, "because you are a saboteur against the Dominion and a spy for the Federation. Keevan will see that my actions were justified for your death and glory for the Founders..."

He stopped his sentence and let her go then, letting her fall to her knees and grabbing her throat, breathing fast enough to try and get her oxygen back. Her arm was still bleeding rivers of red and meeting the earth. Tirak'iklan had released her at the command of "Release her, or you will die." The speaker had been Third Remata'klan, and the others accompanied him with their rifles raised at their first-in-command for his rebel act against their Vorta's order. "The Vorta did not ever give you the order to kill her."

Tirak'iklan snarled and bared his teeth at his third-in-command. "He gave me the order to restrain her -"

"Third!"

Annora swallowed when she followed the Jem'Hadar's gazes down the tunnel at the echoing shout from Keevan. He'd heard everything from where he was; Vorta had great hearing. She hissed when she looked back down at her still-bleeding arm and realized she had to go back and take care of it - and that meant facing Keevan again, not that she had any choice.

Remata'klan marched over her and hauled her up by her uninjured forearm. "Take his weapons and bring him to the Vorta," he ordered the rest of the men before looking down and snarling at the First as soon as he was restrained by Fourth Limara'son and Seventh Yak'talon. "We'll deal with you however he sees fit for you."

He began to lead the way, taking her with him. "You can let me go, Remata'klan," Annora told him, pulling her unharmed arm away from him, humiliated enough it was.

"You're making a mistake!" Tirak'iklan shouted as he was dragged back into the area and then forced onto his knees before the makeshift bed, the other soldiers drawing their rifles onto their fallen leader. "I did what you wanted me to do!" he protested to Keevan, who had opened his eyes from a habit while she'd been gone.

But the look in them was far from pleased when they landed on his first-in-command.

~o~

He respected Annora's decision to not speak to him for awhile because he would have done the same thing if he were in her place. However, she angered him by leaving just like that, but what could he do if he couldn't move without her? He'd told Tirak'iklan to restrain her if things got out of hand, and they certainly did.

But just now he could hear all the commotion and fumed venomously. He'd specifically ordered Tirak'iklan to _not_ attempt to kill her! It didn't surprise him because once before, his first-in-command had defied him once and killed a prisoner they captured for interrogation regarding Tekeny Ghemor, and the captive attempted to escape only to be fired down despite the Vorta's order. Keevan never took disobedience well; the Jem'Hadar First might carry out the death of one of his own men for multiple times of defiance, but Keevan himself could order his First executed mainly for the reason of trying to kill the woman he had grown fond of despite her deception.

He glowered insidiously at Tirak'iklan surrounded by his own men, and then looked at Annora past him with Remata'klan behind her - and she was holding her right arm, in which a thick river of red remained but had stopped flowing for the time being. That alone gave him a reason to stop this now.

"Explain to me why you chose to defy me once more," Keevan snarled, lips drawing back. He wanted this slime out of his sight now, only to protect Annora.

Tirak'iklan had no need to break eye contact; the Jem'Hadar were brave to look their opponents and superiors in the eyes. "I did as you wanted me to, Commander," he repeated calmly but angrily, "and there was no need to order my restrain. I thought the girl was going to escape."

Remata'klan stepped forward, now in charge of the unit but his promotion still on hold. "She wasn't going to get that far from our troops even if she wanted to. He deliberately defied you, sir, and he would have killed her had we not stopped him."

Keevan's glare dissolved into a simple scowl. He wasn't talking to the man, but he _was_ correct. Tirak'iklan made a grave error, and for that, he deserved punishment he would be willing to accept. "You're right, Third. First Tirak'iklan," he said sonorously, turning his attention back to the kneeling Jem'Hadar, "I specifically ordered you to subdue her and not inflict physical damage _of any kind_ , much less kill her like the last one. You deliberately disobeyed a direct order from your commander." He looked up at the rest of the men and gave them all a slight smile. "And for that, punishment is in order."

Tirak'iklan bowed his head like the honorable soldier he was. "I understand, and I accept."

Keevan turned his head away. "Take him outside and vaporize him at once."

He'd seen enough of his former First, and now he relished the sound of his own men taking him from this site and outdoors for his own execution under the sun. He breathed a sigh of relief; he had trusted Tirak'iklan more than the others, but this time he'd lost all confidence in the man because he tried to kill Annora over a little disagreement. From the corner of his eye, he saw her still standing there, and the pressurized heat of her scowl burned into his skin. Remata'klan remained beside her, waiting his orders on what to do with her now. "She remains here, Third," Keevan told him. "Go join your men and do the honors of killing the traitor."

Remata'klan nodded and was prepared to leave when Keevan stopped him. He had more to say, and none of it was new. He took great pleasure in reminding the Jem'Hadar his place. "You're now the leader of the unit, but you will remain Third as long as I live any longer in this place. Have I made myself clear?"

"Perfectly," he responded before taking his leave at the wave of Keevan's hand. Now he was alone with Annora once more, who ignored him completely and started for her bag to grab the medical kit for herself this time. Neglecting him the entire time.

Keevan watched her wipe the blood away before rubbing some synthehol over the cut, then applied the analgesics even though it wasn't as severe as his side was. She bandaged it as soon as she finished, but even the entire time, she still did not utter a word to him. "Ignoring me won't make this any better."

"There's nothing to say," she spat. "I'm from the Federation, you're from the Dominion. Whatever you have to say won't take that away, or earlier. And neither will it take away one of your own men trying to kill me himself, one I spent a lot of my time with besides you." She snorted and picked up a few of the berries she brought back, sitting back and folding her legs criss-cross. "Now that you have evidence against me, that's enough to convict me of terrorism."

She was good at playing her side of the game, doing her best to defend herself and humiliate him even though it was just the two of them. Keevan could never resist her spirit, but it was pointless nevertheless. Yes, they were on opposite sides, but that changed nothing of how he felt for her. Not even anything else she planned to do against his people. "You won't be executed if you destroy that one form of proof that you should have reconsidered before you brought it along for the ride," he told her through hooded eyelids; her back was facing him as she rested it against the side of the bed, nearly enough to touch his leg. Annora whirled around him then, frowning disgustedly at him.

"Why don't you just tell me yourself WHY you don't want me tried as a war criminal?"

She knew why, but she wanted to hear it from him. She was back to raising her defenses; well, Keevan would do the same. "Isn't it obvious?" he returned. Oh, she knew, but she wasn't going to admit it.

"Well, let me analyze what we've done best: I saved your sorry self from the wreck, bandaged you and kept you alive the best I could, fed and watered you, bathed you and everything I should. But as for you, you got under my skin about my marriage, and you tell me that you feel emotion that I never thought possible for the Vorta. You prevented your men from laying a hand or a rifle shot on me, until the lead tried to kill me just a little bit ago - which isn't easy to forget," she said, narrowing her eyes and leaning in. He would have wanted to kiss her if not for the ferocity in her expression...but that was why he felt his own fire return in his body, stemming from his own heart.

"It's not easy to forget, I know that," he replied softly, "because a Vorta _never_ forgets. Just as it is never easy to forget what it feels like to develop something you never felt for towards another being only to lose your opportunity, and you never know if you will ever get the chance again. I would have said you would not know what it is like to want what you can't have, but you know what I am talking about." She was trembling now; he'd struck the key point. "And that is why I never loved another, Annora. It pains so much that I wish it could be taken from me, but it never leaves.

"You asked me once if another man would give you what your husband could not, and if it were to be me." He smiled ruefully. "And I said yes. Because you and I are not so different. We both want something that we fought so hard for but were too far to grasp. I wish I knew how to say any more of this without being too much like your cherished literary figures, but it has happened so soon and beyond our control. The kiss I shared with you truly made me realize it, or not long ago when I was under the sun and in the water, our bodies together for the first time - but that kiss began everything, and I could never forget the feel and taste of your lips. It was everything I ever dreamed of you all this time."

She looked shell-shocked at his confession, but she deserved to know now, at this time. And what a time indeed. He had her now and would never let her go, not even if they were rescued. He would gladly risk his own life and take her against the Founder's wishes if he must. "And I want you to kiss me now, Annora. That's all I ask, and that you please forgive me for my recent behavior."

He was expecting her to refuse him and get up to leave again, but he was surprised she didn't. His willpower over her must be that much stronger. She said nothing as she leaned over and kissed him then, the fire in his blood hotter than before...and hotter than the fire burning before them.

 **I'm sorry if that ending was cheesy, but Keevan would have wanted to make amends sooner than Annora wanted. And come to think of it, I don't know if Annora forgives him right away or is just keeping cool until she DOES forgive him. Because soon the crew will come along like in the actual episode "Rocks and Shoals".**

 **Keevan's anger makes sense enough to have his First Jem'Hadar executed for attempting to kill the woman he's fallen in love with. It's clear now that he is but won't use the words just yet - and Annora, too. But sooner or later, they'll just have to.**


	11. The Ten Commandments

**Life was hella busy that I also had to reread past chapters for this one just to avoid plot holes, and I'm very protective. XD I hope this was worth the wait, and I hope no mistakes without me realizing it.**

Chapter Ten

The Ten Commandments

Her body was burning too much that she couldn't hold this back any longer. She'd realized earlier that he desired her and had just now confessed so himself - she'd just wanted to hear it from him just for confirmation. Add in the fact she had _dreams_ about him that made her throb and moist below that she moaned his name - and did he hear her call out his name in sleep? She would blush with fury if he did; even if he DID hear her, he wouldn't tell her so.

She still wasn't sure how she could handle telling Jeffrey she didn't love him like that anymore...or perhaps it was never there.

No, it never was. She'd known all along but never acknowledged it until she kissed this incredible creature who expressed his gratitude, the tragic truth about his people, as well as his longing for her. Even protected her as she kept him alive. He had never been with a woman because he couldn't get his heart broken like before.

It made Annora wonder what happened to him then.

She slowly broke the kiss away and looked him in the eyes. Gone were traces of the anger she'd seen before, but she wasn't sure if she could let that go. She never let anything in her life slide that easily, as she told him. Damn those eyes and his mesmerizing face for melting her! But the spell Keevan's kiss placed over her mind washed everything away as though it had never been there. She felt like she had taken an aphrodisiac which ignited the sex drive, except she hadn't.

"Do you forgive me, Annora?" he whispered, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Yes." The word escaped before she thought about it, and it made him smile with satisfaction.

"Good," he breathed, his soft breath washing over her face as he leaned up and kissed her again, chastely unlike before. "Now...about what we talked about before it was ruined?"

~o~

Keevan never thought he would enjoy a story like this one. He'd stared up at the ceiling the entire time she read to him the first ten chapters of her novel, still unnamed, and thirty eight pages by his calculated guess. But as far as he was concerned, the length wasn't important; it was the content itself.

The story opened with the main protagonist/antagonist - or perhaps antivillain, depending on your point of view - in jail and reminiscing on the past two relationships he tried to make work only for both to fail. His first one was his high school sweetheart - high school was a four-year time before Terran young adult years - who had been his chance to redeem himself after his life of sexual molestation by his own father until he took matters into his own hands and killed his father himself before staging the act to look like a suicide. The true murderer was never discovered. Unfortunately, when he married his beloved, life fared no better because he was developing the symptoms of a human mental state called schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder. His wife of five years ultimately could take his issues no longer and tried to leave before he killed her, too, and dropped her body into the river somewhere. Like his father, no fingers were pointed to him.

But it was by the second time that his luck ran out.

His second love had eventually discovered her future husband's past and secrets, but she met her demise, too...and this time the authorities caught on. Enough evidence to put him away for life for first-degree murder, but ultimately the courts ruled him insane based on the "expert opinion" of a young psychiatrist newly graduated under the tutelage of a renowned face, therefore placing him under her care. But she would end up getting more than she bargained for, a young brain fresh from school and given a psychopath as a refreshing challenge for her. Oh, how naïve she was, and ambitious. Ambitious as Annora, the woman who created her, but Annora wasn't foolish as she was. She ought to have seen there was more than the man let on - and she didn't know until it was too late. Ten chapters in, and the leading lady had already begun to have unexpected fantasies of bondage with her own patient...and it scared and excited her at the same time.

He smirked when he saw Annora's cheeks flush when she read the fantasy of the heroine tied up as she was taken in bed by her patient-lover, which was wrong but delicious at the same time. Nothing he was a stranger to, and it made him wonder something which became what he wasn't afraid to ask her. "Is this what makes you tremble with pleasure when your husband fails at the job?"

He already knew the answer even before she answered. "Yes, but it's not something a lot of people would understand. I'm a bookworm, a Terran term for someone who loves books and knowledge more than anything else but still retains common sense. They're often misunderstood and looked down upon by those who think they're better than anyone else."

Between the lines, he could see that she'd been asocial as a child, but did she ever have a real friend as he had Eris and Weyoun? Another cough escaped his lips; he could feel his aches returning soon, and it had been one or two hours, but time was hard to keep track of when there was no working technology and a communication system to rebuild. "Believe me, I know what it feels like. When it comes to attracting the opposite side of the species, I'm either not interested in them for certain reasons, or they simply don't care because of my attitude, shall we say. But it's all right," he told her with a little smile. "I'm used to it, but if there is anything I don't take, it's offense exactly."

"I understand that, too," she agreed, lowering her PADD to her lap and looking at him over her shoulder; her back had once again been against the rock of a bed as she read aloud to him, and she must be tired by now. "One thing I don't take well is punishment. When I was a child, I got myself into a lot of trouble I didn't care, and no matter the level of severity, my parents reprimanded me for it."

He automatically assumed the rest of her family lived on planet Earth, but he had to make sure. He was a clone, so no family to conceive him, but that didn't stop him from wanting to learn about her. "Where are your parents now?"

"Back on Earth, still living in New Orleans, which is where I was born and grew up," she answered, not smiling. "My mother is a medical doctor, my father also a member of Starfleet, with the rank of General recently. He's Uncle William's older brother." She shook her head. "We don't get along."

Keevan felt his lips tighten. Perhaps he should have expected that, because how could someone willful and resistant as Annora O'Neal want anything to do with strict parents? He wasn't sure what they did to her exactly, but he guaranteed it was enough to drive her away from the two people who conceived her. What did he know of that subject, too, when he wasn't mated and didn't have offspring? "How about you? I take because you're a clone, you have no parents," she stated.

"None at all. I have the Founders, my gods...although I doubt they are now," he confessed. Because what gods hated their children and let them suffer the way they did? Here he was, weak and lying underground...but he was also watched over by what he could call an angel. She was his savior in all things. "If my friend and old mentor heard me say such a thing," Keevan added, looking up at the ceiling again and almost seeing Weyoun's disapproving features looking down on him, "he would tell me I am defective. That I am a fallen angel."

If he was truly defective, then perhaps he was grateful to be, because he would not follow orders because he was made to do so. He was no one's slave and never would be. He wouldn't be surprised if Mia Sisko on Terok Nor had tried to convince her lover, Weyoun, of the belief that the Founders were not gods and never would be. He might not care about her, but at least he agreed with her.

"I don't believe that." Annora's hand came over to rest on his which lay on his stomach. "And I wish there was a way to free your people from that bondage they live in. There's an ancient story from planet Earth in the Bible, in the Exodus section about a Hebrew man named Moses." Keevan looked at her; he loved ancient history as much as field reports. He suspected this man she spoke of could relate to this situation of his people. "He was the son of a Hebrew slave woman, but unlike other infants who were ordered to be put to death under the Egyptian pharaoh, his mother put him in a basket and sent him down the Nile River to save his life. He ended up in the water gardens of the palace, taken out by the pharaoh's daughter; she always wanted a son and therefore raised him as her own. She named him Moses because she pulled him out of the river." She smiled proudly that it matched Keevan's own; he couldn't think of anyone of the Vorta race to relate to this Moses character, but this tale was sure to take him farther than he was now.

"He grew up and raised as a prince, alongside his brother Rameses. Eventually, though, Moses learned of his true heritage and set out to search for his identity as well as chosen by God to save his people from slavery under Rameses, who had become pharaoh himself years later. Brother against brother over one race of people. Multiple times, Rameses refused and forced Moses to raise God's hand and let loose the plagues of Egypt on the city until Rameses let the people go for Moses to take them to the Promised Land for a new life that they prayed so long for."

Keevan looked back up at her from staring at the ceiling and taking in the story...a story of bondage and escape from that bondage, as well as the promise of a better future and salvation for such a sinful past. He needed to learn more about this story because the Moses figure fascinated him...

...and delve into how he managed to save an entire race of people from enslavement and servitude. Would there be hope for the Vorta then if he uncovered facts instead of myth like that fairytale his people lived with?

~o~

The story of Moses was one of the oldest lessons and stories she had grown up and loved, took to the depths of her heart especially when it came to the fight for freedom and fleeing bondage. She loved the idea of fighting for the freedom of your people as it was never something freely given, and to flee to another land for a better life but had to come with a set of laws you had to abide by. That was when the Ten Commandments came in; she wasn't religious by any means, but they were all clear by listing and truer words never spoken:

 _Thou shalt have no other gods before me..._

 _Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image..._

 _Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain..._

 _Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy..._

 _Honor thy father and thy mother..._

 _Thou shalt not kill..._

 _Thou shalt not commit adultery..._

 _Thou shalt not steal..._

 _Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor..._

 _Thou shalt not covet..._

All of them she knew to follow good and well...but then it came to that one in particular. The seventh commandment regarding marital fidelity, with two men on either side of her - her husband of nearly five years, Jeffrey, and Keevan, an agent of the enemy waging an all-out war against her peace-keeping affiliation who awoke the sensations a hormonal teenager would feel...but it was much stronger than that. But the more time she spent with him on their second day on this deserted star system, her morals were almost forgotten, and they were just a couple normal beings enjoying each other's company.

She had spent the next two hours telling him about the story of Moses and the Ten Commandments, and he had grown fond of it as much as she was. He even agreed with most of them, except for the killing and covet parts. Killing a being was never acceptable, but necessary when it came to the circumstances they lived in. Annora had never killed anyone in her life, but Keevan assured her there was always a first time even as he voiced his view of the Ten Commandments.

"I believe in gods and creation, yes," he said, starting with the first, dull and monotoned, "but the Founders no longer fit in that category now that it is clear as a crystal to me. But I do not know who to turn to and pray now," he said, unhappily turning his face away and closing his eyes again. "No matter how many times you cry to the heavens high, no spiritual rescue will come to you. Even those who fight and die in battle as well as non-believers put their lives on the line for those whose freedom they fight for know they need all the help they get before their times run out."

His eyes remained closed the whole time he continued to speak of the commandments, comparing and contrasting to what his "gods" established for him and his fellow Vorta. "We have no need to worship images representing a god, just as the Bajorans worship their Prophets spiritually. Images are nothing compared to the one true god; the female Founder herself made it clear herself by standing in our presence and having us bow down to give her the respect she's due." He paused there and snorted disgustedly, shaking his head. "But that is what I would label now as a puppet master, the term used before as you might have heard before, Annora? Or anyone you know?"

The term HAD been used before, yes, more often with others she couldn't conjure at the present. Keevan continued. "By respect means not taking her and the other Founders in vain, otherwise we are called defective. Mistakes they could fix any time they want, even if it means execution and manufacuring a newer, more disciplined incarnation. I endured it once and will not go through it again, I can assure you of that." He paused and opened his eyes again to gaze into hers again.

"My story of my people and where we came from, it's too good to be true, but I suppose you already knew that."

She nodded. It was too perfect and idealistic, like any fairytale designed to be safer for the fainthearted and hiding the true facts. She looked down and saw Keevan reaching out for her, asking her to hold his hand while he carried on. His skin was moist around hers. "We all remember it from the first few minutes of our first incarnations, but our progenitors are complete blanks from our minds - some of us, at least. Our originals aren't as important, or so we were told."

She had parents that deserved the respect they demanded, but she'd been a child back then but didn't care as much as she didn't now. Keevan and the other Vorta, on the other hand, had no parents unlike their originals; they had their false gods who tried to be gods. Those gods deserved to be honored when they didn't.

Murder was common within the Dominion; the Changelings would do anything to get what they wanted, even taking the lives of their own servants but never each other. It was one of their most sacred laws: "No Changeling has EVER harmed another." The Federation was more justified than that. Even adultery was severely frowned upon within Vorta society; they were eternally loyal to their soul mates and partners. Stealing was a penalty punished amongst as well, but the punishment was sealed away from public eye until the actual trial date.

"Bearing false witness is often mislooked upon," Keevan told her with a sarcastic smile. "Lying, shedding blood and not caring about innocent or otherwise, I can go on forever, Annora. The Dominion and Cardassia are too proud with order to care about such things."

All of the commandments were covered, except one which bore the gray areas regarding the two of them. "Covet means to desire other things you can't have," she told him gently, sorrowfully, lowering her eyes to the ground. "For example, as the Bible goes, your neighbor's house and wife, and any of his possessions. What doesn't belong to you shouldn't become yours."

Perhaps she didn't realize it, or maybe she did unconsciously, but she was referring to her and Keevan together despite their longing for the other; she was married despite not loving her husband as much as she thought she did. Right now she searched his face, seeing him melt away with a sorrow that made her do the same. He had terrible luck, trying to get someone to spend the rest of his life with. She paused there and corrected herself: someone to spend his _immortal_ life with. He might never die completely, because he was a clone and frozen in state. Taking in his ethereal features, if he were human as she was, she'd say he was the same age as she and Mia were.

"True words I wish weren't so," Keevan whispered, and she could have sworn she saw his eyes glaze again. His bare arms unwrapped themselves from around his torso to bring the blanket up higher over his body to cover more of his chest. His decision to remain naked after his bathing didn't bother her anymore, and a part of her wanted to see his body again, but she couldn't just brazenly ask him if she could.

"Keevan," she said instead, "who broke your heart before?"

It was clear he had been attracted to only one person that he suffered so much, hiding it well from others who weren't her. But his response made her take a small slide backwards. "I thought I told you not to ask me," he snapped, face twisting like before until it softened with the speed of a whiplash. Vanishing as though the anger had never been. "I'm sorry, Annora. Don't hate me again. I can't bear the thought of you hating me."

Annora shook her head. She didn't hate him at all, anymore. She was just...afraid of losing him once they were rescued. The path ahead of them both was filled with the unknown, but while she never feared for it then, it had dawned brighter and that much greater.

However, she tried to comfort herself and him with the thought that they both walked through barriers in front of them like they didn't exist.

Two or three hours passed by since her reading her barely finished novel and discussing the Ten Commandments, comparing and contrasting to real life laws set by the Dominion, when Annora began to search through her bag for the medical kit to take care of Keevan's side again - only to look up in alarm when Keevan began to gasp and sob, the act coming out of the blue altogether. "God, Keevan, what's wrong?" She quickly pulled the blanket back down and exposed his bandaged wound, pulling it off and revealing the black hole, no longer bleeding but possibly infected.

"Oh, no..." She couldn't hold back the gasp that escaped her throat. Keevan's eyes were wide, and the tears came strolling down his cheeks in heavy streams.

"Yes." His voice was croaking now, trying not to cry anymore and failing. "It's the second day this has been left untreated properly...and it's getting worse." He paused, pursing his quivering lips together. "Annora...I'm going to die soon."

 **Oh, God, noooo Keevan. :( But we all know him too well. He's strong to last a little longer, and Annora is doing everything she can.**

 **Things in the timeline here will speed a little faster than the actual show, not that I'm trying to force it or anything.**

 **Annora and Keevan's moments are kind of like mine with my boyfriend when it comes to him reading my stories; he's supportive in every step of the way. :) The issue with Moses and the Ten Commandments DOES compare to Keevan and his people under Dominion rule, does it not?**


	12. Survival of the Fittest

**My friend Irishchick1982 said these words which helped explain the comparison of Keevan and his people to Moses and the Ten Commandments: "It does explain his people very well, granted Keevan's people actually worship the Founders and admire them; at least Moses' people wanted to be free and didn't worship the Pharaoh. So the Vorta are brain washed basically, which is why they act the way they do. They are a sad race if you think about it." :'(**

Chapter Eleven

Survival of the Fittest

He was dying.

He whimpered as another onslaught of spasms dominated his entire right side, squeezing his eyes tightly shut and tried to stop the tears from spilling, but they came in heavier streams each second turning into each minute that passed. He had been fighting the best he could for two days, but now it had returned with a vengeance. "Oh, gods," he moaned. " _Oh..._ I can't feel my legs."

His legs felt like they were heavy with lead, unable to move or feel. Which meant he could no longer walk for awhile, and that also meant Annora couldn't help him stand even if she wanted to. He was in so much pain a part of him wanted it to be quick, but it wouldn't come that easily. He forced his eyes opened again to look up at Annora. She looked like she was going to cry, too, because she didn't want him to die...and he no longer saw that it was because of the simple fact he didn't deserve it. His heart fluttered at the small amount of hope. Because if he died in a matter of time, he would die a happy man because he did the one sure thing that Weyoun told him had to be spoken now rather than later and resulting in permanent regret.

"You're not going to die on me; we made that agreement," she told him harshly, staring at the ugly, mildly outwardly veined wound in his side for another few seconds before reaching for her kit. "I won't let you."

She asked him to tell her why he wouldn't allow her taken in as a prisoner of war to the Dominion; now he would turn the tables on her and ask her the true reason why she didn't want him to die. "Give me one good reason why," he said, feeling like he was running out of breath - notably when she drew a small blade-like tool. She intended to peel away the dried, infected skin. He yelped a little at the little jolts through his numbing side when the small but sharp tip pierced the dry, blackened skin.

She stopped what she was doing then and looked at him, baffled. "Excuse me?" she asked, brows furrowed in a frown. "Why do you want to know why I don't want you dead? You already know the answer."

"True, but it's deeper than let on," Keevan answered, pausing to take a deep breath. "You know why you want me alive, after two days in my company and all our time together. But it doesn't seem enough now, because you deserve the true answer from me." He reached up and placed his hand on her heart again, over the stone around her neck. The charm heated against his skin again; she shuddered when she drew in a breath. Keevan smiled at her reaction and looked back and forth between her face and his hand over her heart. His own beat more than a thousand times faster, not that a rate like that deserved track.

"Annora O'Neal, I'm not afraid to confess that I am giving you every ounce of undying devotion. You might belong to the Federation, a side my people fight against, but it doesn't matter to me, because you saved my life and has remained by my side when you could have let me die any time - even now. What I am trying to tell you is that I love you. I don't just simply desire you. I _love_ you, I don't care you're married to another man you never loved the way I do - the way you _should_ \- but I only wish to give my heart to you alone. And before I die, I want you to know it."

~o~

Her mind was in a buzz. Her mind...and her heart. And Keevan's hand over the latter wasn't slowing the beats down in any literal sense; it picked up its pace that she was no longer having her doubts and over analysis. Her dreams, the way he made her feel - including his hand over her heart twice in a row - his blunt but irresistible seduction, his surreal beauty and purring, velvety voice, and his success at opening her eyes to the big picture that what she never thought possible had been waiting for her all this time.

Keevan did not just lust for her; he _loved_ her.

Everything, including the cave ceiling overhead, came tumbling down in a figurative speech sense. He loved her and was just telling her now when he was dying; even though he didn't say it aloud, he wanted her to tell him her feelings to prevent her from regretting not voicing them for the rest of her life. No, _no,_ NO! She did NOT want him to give up on her now. _Not now..._

Annora placed her hand over his heart, his own still before hers. His heart was beating just as fast as she knew hers was doing. How could she answer him back? "Annora, please say something," he pleaded, his eyes widening slightly. "I don't want to die when you give me no answer."

She shook her head aggressively. "No, you won't give in now," she insisted, choking up now. "I don't want you to leave me." Her heart had cracked enough as much as her sanity was when everything bottled up was being spilled in this one critical moment. "Not because I don't want you to, but because if you go, then I'll have no one left who understands me. I'll still be trapped in my marriage when I'm not even sure if I can go through with asking for a divorce; there will be no way I can explain to Jeffrey I don't love him because of another..." She stopped there, having been looking down at his wound the whole time she was speaking, and now looked back into his eyes again. He was still crying, but now his lips were pulling back to manage the weakest smile she'd ever seen.

"Go on," he whispered.

"I love you, too," she blurted, blubbering now. She'd been so afraid to say those three simple words; they were on opposite sides, and neither of their superiors would approve if they learned of this. She hated being weak this way, but even the strongest had to break down with the right amount of pressure, it seemed. "I just...I'm afraid. If you die, then I'll have no one like before. I had...a best friend, but we haven't seen each other in a long time. I know I hated you in the beginning, but I'm not cruel to leave someone to die. I didn't know entirely why I rescued you, but I think I know now. I love you, Keevan, but I don't want this to be like one of those stories I have been into since I was a child -" She stopped when he interrupted her.

"You're right; this isn't fantasy. It's real love." He smiled, that beautiful seductive smile of his. "Whoever composed it and whoever followed in their footsteps knew what it was truly like and passed it down for others. They believed in it and wanted others to believe in it, give them hope. They never said it aloud, just wanted their readers to find out for themselves. I never took myself to actually..." His pain seemed to have been forgotten for the moment, because now he was laughing again; she had to continue taking care of him soon. "...understand anything like this. Considering my share of bad luck."

Her strength returned enough for her to pick up that little blade again and bring it back to his wound so she could continue to peel back the dark scab; a little drop of blood seeped; he didn't seem to feel it now given he didn't make anymore noises. "We both had our share of bad luck," she said. Bad luck either wedding the wrong man or being shunned by everyone else despite being attractive enough to catch anyone's eye. "But it brought us both together," she added with a little smile which he returned.

Keevan's nod was enthusiastic, his smile spreading wider. "Yes. Yes, it did."

She leaned down and kissed him again, that wonderful feeling washing over her again. Keevan's exquisite lips made her moan again; she wanted more of his kiss and never stop. "Mmm, Keevan," she murmured, breaking it apart and looking at his injury again. "I have to take care of this now." She'd finished peeling the scab away and now applied the synthehol and analgesics again; the last of the wrappings were in a minimal amount now, so she had to use less than what she did from now on.

"No matter what you said, no matter what you're feeling," she promised him, wondering how much longer that communication system needed fixing, "you're going to be all right as long as you hold on...as long as I am here." She took his hand into her free one and held it firmly. He'd given her his heart because he believed he was dying and had to tell her out of fear of never knowing if she loved him, too, and wanted to know she did as well. She wasn't sure if she could live with never telling him.

"In that case," Keevan spoke, blinking a couple times to stop the tears now, "I believe I have a good reason to live. Not just because dying frightens me." He brought his other hand up to cover both of theirs together. "My reason to remain alive is right in front of me."

~o~

He had worried for nothing, a rarity in himself, but this was necessary because of obvious reasons. He knew he loved Annora, but had to take the biggest step he ever made in his life in asking her if she felt what his heart beat for - and that was for her. She was his and would be, no matter what. Time might keep them apart, the Federation and Dominion - as well as her unhappy union - might keep them apart physically, but their joined minds and hearts would remain as one. He wanted to give his body to her, but it would seem too soon for her, and his body wasn't in the best condition for it at the present.

But that didn't matter now. What mattered was that now his love for his angel was out in the open, his fears went away, including his fear of dying. He intended to live for her, because she wanted him to.

"You're not giving up," she whispered, looking down at their joined hands, a ghostly but visible smile in place - and a happy one.

"No," he answered with a weak shake of his head. "I won't. There is more that I want to do that I refuse to die without accomplishing." He wanted Annora in his life, wanted to take her away from her husband and make her his forever. He didn't care what the odds were; he wanted her to share that thrill with him.

Footsteps sounded and a shadow loomed over them both. Third Remata'klan stood over them, watching them with interest. Keevan felt irritated at his time with his new beloved being interrupted. _Beloved._ He inwardly thrilled at the word; it had been in his wildest dreams, but now it actually happened. He found the one he had searched for all his life that he had been missing. But right now his unit leader standing in front of them had ended the perfect moment. "Third," he said coldly, gazing up at him with a wry smile, "enjoying the sight, are we? If you think I'm going to die soon, I must tell you that I won't give you the satisfaction." He returned his attention back up to Annora who had her back facing the Jem'Hadar, and smiling down at him softly. "I intend to live."

Remata'klan showed no trace of disappointment, and even though he did his best to hide it, Keevan sensed clearly that he was. "I understand," he replied simply, canting his head forward in a single, barely visible nod. His mere presence to watch his commander naked but covered, vulnerable and dying with the young Starfleet reporter by his side wasn't the reason why he was here. If this had to do with the communication system, then Keevan deserved to know how much longer until it was reestablished.

"Ten days, at least, according to Seventh Yak'talon," Remata'klan reported. "But either way, we will attempt a low-powered test then."

His heart sank. "Ten days," Keevan repeated, closing his eyes in defeat. Ten days...it was more than he anticipated, and he smelled it radiating off Annora above him. He closed his eyes, avoiding eye contact with her. This was their second day here, but to last for ten more days, he and Annora would both go insane, and he might be dead by then...no, no he would not -!

He reopened his eyes again when Annora opened her mouth. "Is there anything else?" she asked coolly, either out of her own frustration at being on this wasteland of a planet any longer or because she wanted to be alone with him. The Third looked at her reproachfully before glancing back down at Keevan.

"It's time for the white," he answered at the same time as the rest of the men coming in through the front with Fifth Soran'ilan carrying the ketracel-white case, refreshing Keevan's memory at once. He'd lost track of time to give them their next allowance of white. He nodded for it to be brought over before waving them off so he could try to sit up, grimacing when he couldn't.

Annora jumped up and moved around behind so she was beside him. "Careful," she warned when she placed a hand behind his shoulder and another behind his back, slipping closer so her body helped his elevate. Sighing with relief, Keevan reached over and typed in the code before opening the lid...and felt his insides sink when he saw only two vials of ketracel-white intact. The rest were completely broken, and the system of the case was in no good condition to replicate more.

He heard Annora's slight gasp and halfway turned his head to give her a silent warning to keep quiet. "Third Remata'klan," he said, returning his attention back to the men, "can you vouch for the loyalty of your men?"

"We pledge our loyalty to the Founders from now until death."

The supply of white was limited with ten more days ahead of them, so one had to be given for now to avoid suspicion, but he would come up with a suitable excuse - and he had to do it fast. Their supplies lasted for a week, and the rest of the men would suffer the withdrawal effects if necessary. "Then, receive this reward from the Founders," Keevan said, offering one vial to Remata'klan. "May it keep you strong."

Fourth Limara'son looked at his superior of the unit in visible shock. "Only _one?_ " he demanded, apparently now the bolder of the lot now that Remata'klan was in charge.

"Keep your place," Remata'klan ordered, and the soldier reassumed his position. All eyes were on Keevan now, demanding to know why he was only giving one to their leader. He sighed and closed the lid.

"This case of white must last until we're rescued, at _least_ ten days. Possibly more; I will ration the supply." They glared at him with disgust; without their energy source, they would not last a week or more without it, but what choice did he have? There was only one vial left, and if that was gone, they would be no more than savages and kill both him and Annora before going against each other.

"Don't worry," Keevan assured them softly. "I am the Vorta. I will take care of you all."

They left him alone again, accepting without question like the good soldiers they were to get back to their patrols and on the communication system. Annora helped him lay back down into his comfortable position, but she eyed him with a wary expression; he knew what she was thinking - or _might_ be thinking. "If that last vial is gone, then they'll turn on us both," he told her in a low voice. "The white created by the Founders and the Foudners only ensures their loyalty to me, their commander, but when it's all gone, I'm finished. It's their addiction that keeps them shackled and unable to rebel and kill us. They can't live without the white."

She scoffed and sat back on her thighs, back to their discussion. "It's cold and heartless, using them and enhancing their survival based on a drug, Keevan."

Just as cloning one version after another was cruel, controlling their beliefs, feelings and so on. "They fight for the Dominion because they are made to do so," he reminded her before tightening his jaw. "They have no real honor or purpose, as any Klingon would put it."

Which was why the thought now crossed his mind: if communications were not reestablished before the Jem'Hadar went fully mad, he and Annora were both as good as gone.

~o~

So, partially good but mostly bad news. The communication system would be reestablished, but not for another ten or so days; that meant the longer this went on, the worse Keevan's infected side would get, but he proved to be a tough as hell bird. But what bothered her most of all was the fact that one vial of ketracel-white remained; the Jem'Hadar leader himself would be stable for a week, but his men wouldn't be so lucky.

Disaster spelled for all of them then. And she knew Keevan was just as anxious as she was.

So, before she met this amazing creature who was actually a pawn along with the rest of his race, she'd gone to the ketracel-white facility in Cardassian space to spare the lives of Captain Sisko and the others, save them time and perhaps started a way to end the war even though there was more to come. But now she and the Vorta who changed her entire life were surrounded by white-deprived Jem'Hadar who might not fix that comm system after all on time.

It dawned on her then: Benjamin and the crew were still heading for the facility, if they hadn't reached it yet, and could encounter trouble on the way, and chances were their ship might be damaged enough to crash land someplace - such as here. But then again, it was only an imagining. A false hope she wasn't willing to get high on only to be disappointed.

Not to mention, she didn't want to get Keevan's hopes up, either.

Keevan had started to take his nap again, or so it seemed. He had trouble sleeping during the day because of his injuries; it was the best he could do when he wasn't as active as she was. She finally decided to continue more of her novel - she normally saved a title until over halfway or the very end - and had a better direction for the tenth chapter, when it came to the patient testing his doctor about her nonexistent sex life...and near the end, she opened her mouth and began to sing the song she and Mia loved together, which had originated in the early twenty-first century.

 _"Somewhere beyond the sea, somewhere waiting for me, my lover stands on golden sands and watches the ships that go sailing. Somewhere beyond the sea, he's there watching for me. If I could fly like birds on high, then straight to his arms I'd go sailing."_

A sigh behind her made her stop. Startled, Annora looked behind her to see Keevan looking at her through half-lidded eyes and smiling in pleasure to the song. But then it was gone as soon as she stopped. "Why did you stop?"

"I'm not used to singing in front of an audience," she admitted, making him laugh.

"It's only me. I don't understand music and melody, but the message is clear. Please, continue," he encouraged, raising a hand and placing it on her shoulder. His support was enough for her to pick up and finish without trouble.

 _"It's far beyond the stars, it's near beyond the moon. I know beyond a doubt, my heart will lead me there soon. We'll meet beyond the shore; we'll kiss just like before. Happy we'll be beyond the sea, and never again I'd go sailing."_ If the actual song was playing from her recorder she kept all her favorite tunes that she wished she brought with her, the pause would have eased the awkward moment in which Keevan thought she was done when she actually wasn't.

 _"We'll meet, I know we'll meet beyond the shore. We'll kiss just as before. Happy we'll be beyond the sea, and never again I'll go sailing."_

Keevan's lips were parted to draw in breaths, and his eyes closed briefly before opening again. "Ahhh, you've done well, Annora. I wish I could hear the actual song, perhaps appreciate it better. But in a way, it's you and I in this environment or if we were ever on Kurill Prime," he said sentimentally. "You would have loved it, even more than Risa."

"I'll take your word on it. I traveled in my life, but Kurill Prime I have yet to see, if only this war wasn't going on."

"And if I wasn't in this unwanted situation, I would have taken you there if I wanted to. It would be just the two of us, living in the countryside or by the sea - or anywhere you want," he told her, squeezing her shoulder briefly before letting it go.

She could have seen herself living a life of peace and quiet with him, away from this mess, but she had a job to do for herself, and she wasn't ready to get rid of that. And even if she did, changing her name into a pen name for her novels - and risking censorship in the Gamma Quadrant - wasn't an option. She would never sacrifice her identity for anyone or anything.

She hadn't been up to stroll in a while, and she needed it now. She'd taken care of him and needed her exercise; whatever the Jem'Hadar were doing now without their precious white in their systems. She hoped she wouldn't have anymore problems with them. But oh, how wrong she was again.

"The Vorta sees something in you, and I don't know what it is," a voice snarled from behind her as soon as she was outside the cave. Spinning around and her hair whipping around her shoulder, there stood Fourth Limara'son glowering menacingly at her. "He's going to die soon, yet he refuses to put Remata'klan as First."

This particular Jem'Hadar never bothered her before, so why was he now? She'd dealt with Tirak'iklan earlier, and now she got this one. Perhaps she should start trusting Remata'klan from now on even though he wasn't exactly fond of Keevan himself. "That's something you ought to talk to him about, Fourth," Annora said calmly, "not me. Try daring to question him yourself like your superior does, but you're not brave to do that, are you? You must talk about questioning Keevan yourself, but you don't seem to know your place any better than Third Remata'klan." If he was going to challenge her, then she should do what she should have braced herself with earlier: she would dodge his attacks with the training she had in Klingon martial arts.

Fourth Limara'son growled and drew his combat dagger like the dead Tirak'iklan and charged her, but her angry energy surged through her enough to kneel and spring upwards into the air, spinning into a ball before landing on both feet behind him after he fell to the ground and dropped his knife, which proved to be a disadvantage for him. Annora cartwheeled over and picked up the weapon before flipping back over and landing on top of him, pointing the knife at his throat, baring her teeth in a vengeful snarl. First Tirak'iklan might have tried to kill her earlier, but she wouldn't let this one think about now or a next time.

"Cease this at once!" She didn't look up to see Remata'klan and Fifth Soran'ilan coming into the picture; one important lesson was to NEVER turn your back on your opponent. "Girl, you can drop your weapon and move away." She threw the knife down, the blade piercing the earth with the handle upwards, and gracefully slid off Limara'son for Soran'ilan to haul him up and hold him in place. Remata'klan glared at him for a second before turning to Annora.

"Before you say anything to me," she told him hotly, "I was only walking for some exercise since I haven't had the chance while we were here. You should teach him some discipline before he tries to attack me again like 'poor' Tirak'iklan," she added sarcastically, "did earlier. And for questioning your Vorta about your promotion."

He nodded. "I'll deal with him. Be about your business then, but don't stray too far from this area."

~o~

Their mission to destroy the white storage facility was a success, but trouble with more Jem'Hadar left them without a warp core, so they could not travel at warp speed. Then there were two more Jem'Hadar ships firing at them, resulting in Dax wounded as well as the ship being driven through the nearest dark-matter nebula they found.

The ship was now five hundred meters below the surface of the sea it landed into, and they grabbed everything they could before it took them all with it. Now Sisko and the others were stuck on this uncharted planet until they found a way to call for help, and Dax needed the best care she could from Dr. Bashir.

One funny incident involved nearly the entire crew getting their uniforms torn in certain places - Chief O'Brien's pants included, which made everyone laugh the most. Unfortunately, Garak's sewing kit had gone down with the rest of the ship, but not Bashir's medical equipment. The substitute for mending the ripped clothing was a large rock kept alive by constant phaserfire.

Benjamin decided to check on Jadzia, now that she was resting on a rock serving as a bed just for her. "Madame," he said teasingly, making her smile weakly, "you pants are ready, but your vest and boots will take a little longer."

She burst into weak giggles. "I have a complaint to make: this bed is too hard for me."

He chuckled before looking up when Bashir came to their sides. "Prognosis, Doctor?"

"Guarded, but good," Julian answered. "The bleeding stopped, and I've repaired all the internal injuries." His face fell grim. "But the damage of the symbiont is a little harder to diagnose, but with plenty of rest, they'll both make a full recovery."

Jadzia grunted, discouraged. "So, while I'm staying here, I'll be staring at the ceiling for the duration of our time here." She hated being inactive, especially on sick leave; rarely did she ever take sick, but Benjamin could not bear the thought of losing her AND the Dax symbiont together. Not like Annora, who hadn't been found along with that ship - and scattered remains of debris, but it was hard to tell which ship was which. The amount, according to Dax, had been two separate ships, which confirmed that the one Ross sent out to retrieve his niece had been destroyed...along with the runabout Annora borrowed without permission.

Annora was dead then.

He remembered how he treated her before, and now he regretted it as much as he did his best to shove it behind for the sake of the mission, and now he wanted to let it loose in any way possible. But Dax noticed how he was internally beating himself up over her death; no body had been found, but how could they be certain when there were hardly any lifeforms left besides abandoned wrecks of Starfleet vessels? Admiral Ross was waiting back at the starbase, waiting for his brother's daughter to be brought back safely like Sisko promised; he would be devastated once the bad news would be brought to him along with the good one about the white facility.

"Ben," Jadzia said softly, noticing the distance in his eyes, "you shouldn't blame yourself for what happened to her. Just like you shouldn't have taken the past with Annora too seriously. She was a grown woman now who could take care of herself. She might have died doing a good cause."

He nodded numbly. Mia knew when to draw her lines, but Annora had been unlimited trouble. But still, she was Mia's best friend and a part of her that he'd had while being separated from his daughter for the time being. But now Annora was gone, and he would never forgive himself for a long time.

 **"Before I die, I want you to know." Those words were spoken similarly by Padme Amidala in "Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones", before she and her longtime love Anakin Skywalker were taken into the Geonosis arena. :D**

 **The song Annora sang was "Beyond the Sea" by Celtic Woman. Mia sang it herself in the last story at the end of chapter 7 and at the beginning of chapter 8. Beautiful tune. :D**

 **Keevan giving his heart to Annora the way he did is one of the best parts so far. He had waited long enough and did everything he could to get her to see the light that she shouldn't spend the rest of her life with someone else she doesn't love. And Benjamin Sisko can't be wary of her forever; the past is the past, but the poor man now that he thinks she's dead. :(**


	13. Surges of Hope

**Falling for a Vorta is, like, fast and furious. :) Who can resist them?**

 **I recently found a oneshot of Keevan's thoughts during "Rocks and Shoals" that I never saw before, and it had mentioned Keevan dying once before and not wishing to go through it again, "The Only Option Remaining" by saphirefox-irl. It might be a coincidence, but it's also obvious that Keevan in the actual episode experienced death before and would not want to endure it again. I knew it all along myself even though we never knew anything about him, and it's up to US to theorize.**

Chapter Twelve

Surges of Hope

By the next morning, Keevan was feeling overjoyed despite still being weak and his pains growing. The medication effects still worked, but bandaging was decreasing, and Annora informed him that she would let his wound breathe fresh air from now on. He sighed when his body laid bare for the entire area now that since his Jem'Hadar wouldn't come unless he called for them. He looked down at his naked body, the blanket at his knees, at his glistening skin and the smell of it rising to his nostrils. The lack of circulation didn't reach the rest of his body yet, besides his injured side. He missed Annora helping him to the water hole where she was currently bathing right now, and promised to bring back more to clean him herself.

Last night was another dream about them again, and it was the same. He would keep waking up and aching with desire, fighting to give himself the release only to give in to the temptation. Weyoun had never so much as touched himself before; it was a rare act amongst their people's sexual nature. He hadn't asked Annora this and was nervous to do so; he might offend her if he did. Self-pleasure wasn't a lightly discussed topic, after all, but he assumed she did because humans were capable of anything.

He still couldn't believe his luck - or did luck really have anything to do with it? He found the woman he searched far and wide for, having fallen down the steep hill of bad chance one too many times, his heart broken more often than he could count. It had taken a great amount of pressure to crack Annora O'Neal into confessing her love for him, too, and to admit her marriage was a sham. He hadn't known love would be like this, nor did he think it would be this rewarding.

And she hadn't known what real love was besides in the stories, always choosing to believe the so-called fact that it was a fool's hope. She simply said yes to marrying her sweetheart from Starfleet Academy because she felt she had to, because she was scared of dying alone...scared as Keevan had been. Her words were vividly clear: _"My rational side said I should accept reality and take what's in front of me. Passion flees so much of the time in our species."_

 _"Not with my people. Passion is everlasting, and we take our time. Sometimes it happens sooner than we think, beyond our control."_

 _"Did you mean it when you said you didn't want to mate with someone like me?"_

He remembered sighing defeatedly when he responded. _"I never found the answer then...but now the answer is no."_ It was a half-truth, of course, but she didn't need to know that. It didn't matter now.

"Sleeping Beauty awakes," Annora joked when she came strolling in with the bucket in one arm and the bundle of food in the other. There was another form of vegetation somewhere around, resembling a Terran fruit called pawpaw, the name making him laugh. He looked her over, seeing her blouse buttoned down halfway to show her undergarments as well as her shining fair skin. "In time for a washing up." She knelt down and wetted her bloodied yellow tunic, sitting on the side of the bed and tugging his blanket the rest of the way off.

Keevan jolted a little and then sighed at the pleasant, cold tingles through his body when the cloth touched his skin. She started at his neck and worked on his shoulders, massaging him in the process. He savored her touch more than anything, wanted more of it and his wish would be granted. He closed his eyes and felt rather than saw the rest of the cleansing of his body. His nipples hardened when she scrubbed his chest and stomach; the latter part tingled pleasantly and went straight down to his groin, his cock quivering and growing its erection intentionally and unintentionally together. But Annora stopped there when she became aware of what she'd do next.

Keevan reopened his eyes. "It's all right; you can touch me now," he told her gently, bringing his hand up to place over hers and guide it over his groin, where she worked him and washed him down there. He shuddered delightfully at his member finally receiving attention that wasn't by his own hand, except he wished that she could touch him herself without that damned cloth in the way. His head lolled side by side only once before he stopped himself, and disappointment filled his bones when Annora abandoned his most sensitive place and focused on the rest of his body. His erection was stiff and painful he couldn't help but whimper and briefly shift his hips in her direction and guide her attention to his hardness. Her face gave no element of surprise, but her eyes were dark and languid - and also nervous.

~o~

She gulped when she looked at Keevan's engorged member, springing forth from his nest of black, the tip glistening. She didn't know what to do, because of that one time with Jeffrey, and the knowledge of men down there in that one spot also based on her experience...

"You don't want to," Keevan stated, his eyes hard and sad at the same time.

"No!" she protested, shaking her head. "I mean, I want to, but..." She trailed off, unsure of how to explain now. Both of his eyebrows raised, gesturing for her to continue, but what could she say? The words squeaked out then. "Jeffrey asked me to do this once, and I...didn't like it."

His brows softened, but his liquid eyes remained the same. "You didn't like it," he repeated, lips parted slightly and eyes rolling up to the ceiling as if to take this in and dwell further. "Not that I'm surprised. Tell me what it was like. Performing the act."

"It..." How do you explain performing oral pleasure without blushing red? It wasn't like the topic wasn't familiar to either of them, but still. "Well, I don't feel comfortable talking about it to you because it's my..."

"And I don't care _who_ it involves," he interrupted firmly. "I just want to know the basic details of the performance." His expression then turned tender. "I only want to make you comfortable."

Annora relaxed but still felt inwardly tensed. "Okay. Well, this part of him -" She reached over and trailed her hand over his manhood without touching him directly, until her fingers brushed against the dark fuzz on their own, the curls soft against her skin in contrast to Jeffrey's coarse version. "- was rough while you're not," she said finally, heart thumping with her nervous state. "It was like playing around with a favorite pet, but at the same time, you cherish it the most in the world. The skin areas around are what are supposed to make you excited and want more of it, and the simple sign of him wanting me - however, with me it was another story. He even asked me to use my mouth, but as soon as I took him in..." She paused there when the memory of his reaction to her refusal due to the taste itself returned.

Keevan was still watching her, understanding glowing clear in his vivid eyes. "I believe I know where you're going. You weren't fond of the taste, and he didn't take it well."

"Not really, even though he understood. I really hurt his feelings."

He snorted. "Hurt feelings over something his own wife didn't like. A lack of compromise and understanding ends in disaster." He then smiled. "You don't have to use your mouth on me, Annora. Your hand will be enough, I believe." He took her hand and brought it back to the juncture of his thighs, her fingers caressing and smoothing the curls before moving down to his length. His skin was smooth and taut, silky and burning. Keevan moaned in response, surprising her because she'd feared his wrath because she didn't do anything he wanted her to. He was still a Vorta no matter how tender he appeared. But he still wanted to make her happy, too; all Vorta wanted to have their partners treated so.

"I want to see you," he breathed. "Take off your shirt."

Her skin was burning again, her shirt feeling like it was clinging to her body now despite a few buttons opened to show enough of her chest as possible. She pulled her hand from Keevan's groin and finished the job of removing her shirt and baring her entire chest and abdomen for his hungry eyes. Keevan wanted to have her as much as she wanted him, too, but his body wasn't fit for it. The way she saw it, his injuries would be at risk of more infliction if he engaged in physical activity.

Her breasts itched underneath her white lace bra, increasing when one of Keevan's hands reached and cupped her left breast, massaging it and hardening her nipple. She sucked in a breath at the electrical tingle, throwing her head back a little when he continued to fondle her breast and brought his other hand to join its companion...

"Commander."

Annora nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Remata'klan's voice in the entrance. Keevan's hands withdrew from her chest so she could button her blouse back up and pull the blanket back over to cover his nakedness. "What is it?" he asked, angry at being interrupted and still hard as a rock. Knowing men, he would go mad with denied his release, but now wasn't the time.

Remata'klan walked over and stood over them both. "We were scouting the shoreline and the desert, sir, when we picked up two lifeforms possibly from the Federation in the area." He reached down and held out something to Keevan, opening his hand and showing a _Starfleet comm badge._

Keevan's eyes widened and glimmered when he took the badge. "Federation...someone crashed here, too. How far away, Third?" He sounded hopeful, like there was a possible alternate solution instead of being here and waiting for their own communication system being fixed by withdrawing Jem'Hadar.

"We don't know how many more yet," Remata'klan answered with a shake of the head, "and they refused to tell. One is a Cardassian, the other a Ferengi boy."

Her whole being fluttered to life. _Garak and Nog._

~o~

The Federation presence was here...he could barely contain himself as he allowed a smile to show. There was hope after all. He wanted to know who else was involved in the group now on this planet and not far away from them, but the two captured would not speak. It made him curious that he wanted them brought to him at once. "What would you have us do with them?" Remata'klan questioned.

"Bring them here," Keevan answered, then turned his attention to Annora. "You may remain with me, as you wish. Unless you want to leave the area for now." He had seen her body tense upon the mention of the Cardassian and Ferengi; he knew that language enough to know she might know them. It gave him a good reason to have her stay with him while he interrogated the two men himself.

Annora had been buttoning the last of her shirt back into place and shifted away from him as far as possible. If she knew the men in the Federation unit, then she must not want them to get the wrong impression of her presence with Keevan's. He smiled to himself at the amusing thought, and turned his eyes in the direction of the cavern entrance when the Cardassian man and the Ferengi boy were brought in, handcuffed behind their backs, weapons taken and any form of contact - the Cardassian's comm badge still in Keevan's hold, resting by his side and out of eyesight for the time being - and forced to kneel before the Vorta in his makeshift bed.

Both prisoners looked first at him with obvious disgust and guarded, then caught sight of the woman and let their masks drop to show shock and recognition, but neither said anything. Neither did Annora, but she lowered her eyes to the ground. Keevan couldn't read her, but he sensed that she didn't want them to breathe a word to her or about anything.

"They refuse to state their names, sir," Remata'klan stated, standing behind the Ferengi, "nor do they respond to who their commanding officer is, and others in their unit."

"Very well," Keevan said, rolling his eyes and focusing them on the kneeling duo so he could cut to the chase. "Well, answer _me_ , then: how many others are there?"

The Cardassian said nothing, but the Ferengi spoke and not in the manner Keevan expected. It seemed like he truly wanted to risk his own life for that of his companion and their unit. "Nog, Cadet Third Class. Serial number: CX-937- -"

He was silenced by a desperate "shut up" from his Cardassian comrade, amusing Keevan as well as saving the boy from Remata'klan's drawn dagger. "As I tried to explain to your men," he said to Keevan, putting on a forced smile and trying to keep them both out of the trouble they were in, "my name is Kamar. And I am a member of the Cardassian Intelligence Bureau, what used to be called the Obsidian Order."

Keevan sighed and closed his eyes, shifting on his side. His erection was painful and neglected enough that he had to shift his legs to cover it until this "meeting" was adjorned. Of course, he would answer so willingly - and untruthfully. He wouldn't speak honestly just to feebly attempt to save his sorry skin and his friend's. The Obsidian Order fell when its leader died and attempted to resist the Dominion. And besides, if this man was a member, why would he be wearing a Starfleet comm badge? "A week ago, as I was performing my duties in the glorious service of the Founders -" Oh, the clear nerve and sarcasm. "- I was captured by the _USS Centaur._ I was held aboard one of their shuttles when -"

Keevan's patience wore off, and he showed it when he finally cut him off, not wishing to hear anymore of this fabrication of a story. " _Excuse me,"_ he said harshly, catching the man off, "Mr. Kamar, if that's _really_ your name..." He narrowed his eyes. "...but if you ARE one of our allies, why were you wearing..." He lifted his hand up to finally show the badge between his forefinger and thumb.

"... _this?_ "

He saw Annora's head still bowed, still not speaking the entire time, and the Ferengi Nog closed his eyes as if silently cursing his Cardassian friend for his idiocy. "Uh..." the man said, still smiling. "...I was hoping you weren't going to ask me about _that_."

"I only have one further question for you." His side was fine for now, but it needed what had been delayed for far too long, and now that the Starfleet unit was somewhere on the planet, his chance had come. He started to formulate the plan to exchange these two for their commander as well as - "Is there a doctor in your unit?"

The Cardassian hesitated but eventually answered, struggling whether or not to betray another comrade. "Yes."

"Garak!" Cadet Nog looked at him with horror at revealing their doctor to the creature in front of them. But Keevan smiled at his sharp attitude.

"Don't be too hard on him, young man," he chided, still grinning. "He just saved your life." Nog looked at him disdainfully; he might as well show some expression of gratitude because he would have been sliced for torture if he didn't agree to cooperate as his friend. Both of them he didn't need right now anyway because he had enough of what he needed. "Take them to a secure area."

He glanced up at Annora while her clearly friends were taken back through the way they came. Garak...now he remembered that name. Practically everyone on Cardassia and in the Gamma Quadrant knew him, and those residing on Terok Nor who talked about previous personnel. The former Cardassian spy casted from his home planet and resided on Terok Nor. But somehow he'd chosen to go along for the ride with his commander, Captain Benjamin Sisko, the man he had been a part of hunting down for the last three months.

Sisko was here. He could hardly keep his inner delight in place. To think of bringing the hunted and his doctor here with one of his cadets and the Cardassian tailor as bargaining chips. "Annora, I need to speak to Remata'klan alone, please," he said. "Third."

She looked between him and Remata'klan but said nothing, just stood and followed the rest of the men. He wondered if she wanted to speak to the prisoners or not, but he didn't care. He had a task to give Remata'klan. "I have a mission for you," he told him, keeping his voice low and firm in case Annora heard him.

"I want you to find the Starfleet unit, but _do not_ engage them," he said firmly. If any of them were killed or weakened in any way after their crash, then his plan would fall to pieces. That included Captain Sisko and his doctor whom he needed the most. "Locate them, assess their strength, and then report back to me."

"I understand."

Keevan scoffed and shook his head. Those words meant nothing to him as well as to his Jem'Hadar; they were spoken too simply, and they would never understand unless they carried out his orders the way he wanted them to. "No, you don't, but that's alright. It's not important that you understand, only that you carry out my instructions precisely." He almost groaned when his thighs tightened even more, wanting Annora back in here so they could continue where they left off; he wanted her to finish what she started, not himself.

Remata'klan nodded his understanding. "Obedience brings victory," he cited, making Keevan crack another slight smile at the slogan. By obedience brings victory, it meant that by successfully finding the enemy unit for his own life to be saved - and Annora's, but it also meant he would end up giving her back to her people, because now that "help" had arrived, he would never be free to return to the Dominion because he and his withdrawal-suffering soldiers were at mercy. And no one would approve of them being together the way they wanted them to.

"Yes, yes it does. Go now."

~o~

Garak and Nog were taken through another tunnel and uncuffed but still had phaser rifles pointed at them for awhile longer to ensure that they wouldn't escape. Annora wanted so much to talk to them, but how could she explain why she wasn't killed? They already knew why she left the starbase, and if they were here, then Captain Sisko and the others were somewhere else, too.

They were all alive. Which meant the possibility of them finding her increased.

Her heart dropped as she watched Nog and Garak be given more space but still secured. What about Keevan? He was keeping them here because he needed Dr. Bashir; Benjamin never went anywhere without the doctor, and Chief O'Brien had to be here to try and repair their own communication system. Keevan might know that, too, and he would know that a Starfleet engineer would do better at repairing than a Jem'Hadar suffering from white deprivation.

She'd heard what he told Remata'klan: find the unit but to NOT engage, only to locate and report back to him. That was going to be hard because of the common withdrawal effects. Due to that, she worried for the crew's lives...and if anything happened to Dr. Bashir, Keevan's hope of surgery and his life saved would be lost. And so would any hope of reestablishing calling for help, leaving them all to die on this desert planet.

"The prisoners are secured," one of the Jem'Hadar told her when he spotted her, standing beside Nog, who was perched to Garak's left. Both men looked at her with unreadable expressions when they saw her again. "Did the Vorta give you permission to come here?"

"He didn't, but even if he did, he wouldn't care," Annora replied calmly. "I'd like a moment alone with them, if it won't be a problem."

They nodded and lowered their weapons to stand outside the entrance, leaving her alone with the two men who were her friends. "Hey, guys," she said, shifting from foot to foot because she didn't know how to start however the conversation would go.

"We thought you were dead, my dear," Garak said, jaw tight. "Captain Sisko -"

"I know he's mad," she interrupted, sitting on her knees in front of them.

"Your ship destroyed along with the one your uncle sent out," Nog added. "We thought you were dead, but we couldn't find you anywhere. He's been beating himself up and we all saw through him. You thought you could go out there by yourself without _any_ of us?" he accused, getting another warning look from Garak, who looked at her with a smile.

"I must say, that WAS brave of you. We all knew you were brave enough, but this must have taught you the lesson that not everything is to be jumped into so hastily. Even I knew that when I was still in the Obsidian Order."

Annora didn't want a lecture; of course she knew it, but that wouldn't change who and what she was. "What has that Vorta been doing to you?" Nog asked with a hiss. "Has he tortured you for information?"

"No," she answered readily, looking them both square in the eyes. "He hasn't even ordered me tortured in any way. He's been hurt that I took care of him the best I could, and of my own will. He's..." She stopped herself there, unsure of how to explain to them that Keevan wasn't as bad as they thought he was without them calling him what everyone else called his people: a monster. And he WASN'T a monster. "...been good to me in return. You guys wouldn't understand without calling him what the rest of his people are. The Vorta are master manipulators, but he's not. I just know it."

Both of them were rendered speechless by her defense, but she didn't care. She changed the topic. "How are the others?"

"Lt. Commander Dax has been hurt, too, but everyone else is okay," Nog answered grimly, "except our ship sunk to the bottom of the ocean. And our communication system is broken down, too, but Chief O'Brien is working the best he can. If only _I_ was there to help him," he said begrudgingly. "And for all we know, the Vorta has us here to lure Captain Sisko to him. Whatever he has in store."

Annora sighed and shook her head. If only she knew how to tell them Keevan's plan as well.


	14. Obedience Brings Victory

Chapter Thirteen

Obedience Brings Victory

"I might be able to hotwire one of our comm badges," O'Brien was saying, "into this sensor array. That would give us a crude transmitter...but a low-powered source," he finished grimly.

Low power meant little success, so there had to be something else they could use. "What about draining one of our phasers?" Sisko suggested. They had saved enough of their weapons and equipment that they wouldn't have to worry about one of them losing a weapon.

O'Brien shrugged; type two phasers possessed more than enough power to transfer for a substitute of a communication system. "I thought about it, but I need a converter to bridge the power cells. And I can't build a converter without an ion exchange matrix." Sisko almost sighed at the bad news; no ion exchange matrix and no link to power cells, nothing. And there HAD been one when they found that damned Jem'Hadar ship last year, but the ship had gone down...which meant the matrix was far down the depths with the ship.

Just their luck.

"Captain." He looked up when Ensign Gordon came in, harried and panting. "We may have a big problem. Garak and Nog haven't reported in, and they're not answering my hails."

Benjamin found his face mirroring Miles'. Mr. Garak and Nog weren't back...what had happened to them? Other lifeforms had to be somewhere on this planet; what other explanation was there? "Ensign, get Lt. Neely and arm up," he ordered. "Chief, you're with us. We're going to find them."

This land was a desert, like one of many on Earth. Few water spots but very beautiful to take in. But beauty does a fine job in covering up any danger in every corner lurking. Suiting up again, Sisko, the chief and Gordon, and Lt. Neely who scanned the area they covered with her tricorder, headed out to search.

The group met with a small land of grass, stretching four to five acres and surrounded with small rocky mountains. So far, no signs of life, but then Neely broke it. "Captain, there's a group of lifeforms up in the cliffs," she said. "Range: seventy-five meters. Elevation: thirty meters."

With the Dominion spreading in the Alpha Quadrant, there had to be one type of life if the Federation were here. "That's where I'd be. Are they...Jem'Hadar?" Sisko looked up and shaded his eyes with one hand as he tried to search the cliffs above himself.

"I think so."

"Well, let's not make it easy with them." Ahead were a collection of ground-covered rocks for them to assume the position. "We're heading to those rocks ahead, but walk and _don't_ run."

They had just made it to their posts in time, he thought sarcastically, for phaserfire to launch in their direction. The Jem'Hadar had apparently decided to kill them as soon as they saw them; no surprise there. Sisko shouted at the others to open fire right back.

Their strength was limited due to the long day and the crash on this isolated system, but they had to fight back. They waited between shots to hide behind their cover and then jump out to return the blasts. When the unseen Jem'Hadar didn't fire back, the group gained this as their favor in trying to fire them when their weapons were lowered.

Sisko frowned when the shots were no longer aimed for the intended targets; the Jem'Hadar were now firing to the ground before them, meters away, and dust was obscuring their vision. They were firing at the group without killing or injuring anyone, only to slow them down...were they _pulling out?_ The Jem'Hadar were supposed to shroud and retreat, but why didn't they?

"Ceasefire!" Benjamin shouted when there were no more shots from the cliffs overhead. The others were just as weary and baffled as he was. Why didn't the Jem'Hadar kill them when they spotted them? There were too many unanswered questions that they needed answers.

~o~

Keevan moaned when his release reached its peak; his skin was sticky with himself, and if Annora saw this, he would feel ashamed of himself for not waiting for her, but he didn't know when she'd be back. Whatever was she doing with the prisoners? He would never jump to the conclusion of plotting with them to escape; he knew her better than that.

"Sorry I kept you waiting." He breathed a sigh of relief when she returned, her silhouette covering the floor of the cave. "Did you..." Her eyes landed on him covered with the thermal blanket. "...survive without me?"

Keevan felt his cheeks flush, but he nodded. "Only I couldn't wait any longer for you. It was...too much." He lowered his eyes to his no-longer existing erection which had subsided thanks to himself. She was looking where he was, but her face was unreadable.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, sadly. "I wish we weren't interrupted." She walked over and seated herself in her favorite spot, unable to look him in the eyes, and he wondered if it was because of him. "What are you planning to do with the prisoners and the others out there?" she asked when she finally looked up after a tense moment of silence.

Keevan gave her a knowing smile. "Captain Benjamin Sisko is out there, and I know it. Because you know him well, too, Annora, he's the best hope you and I both have for survival."

She shifted back away from him. "What is it about the captain that fascinates you?"

"Before I met you, I was in charge of hunting Captain Sisko and his unit to ensure their demise, but the search got us nowhere," he answered smoothly. "He was never found, so it was safe to assume that he hid well, and more important matters were at hand. But now, it seems, luck is on my side now that he is here. I have better intentions than to kill them all."

His ears picked up the familiar thud of boots returning. Remata'klan and six more had returned. He just hoped they followed his orders and didn't kill anyone or injured any of them. The six soldiers assumed their stance behind their leader who stood at the head, his scaled face grim, telling Keevan everything. "You found them," he said, feeling his anger arise, "but you engaged them when I specifically ordered you NOT to."

Remata'klan nodded. "Yes, but it was unintentional -"

"Unintentional or not," Keevan interrupted, his temper bubble bursting and spewing fire, " _why were my orders_ disobeyed?!"

"Lack of white," Third Remata'klan responded calmly and slightly reproachfully, "produces anxiety among us. One man could not restrain himself when he saw the enemy."

"Which man?" Whoever fired the first shot would be severely punished for almost destroying everything he planned, but damn Remata'klan for his defense!

"I have dealt with the matter."

Keevan's patience was tried far too many times, and his voice rose several octaves enough to send Annora shifting further away from him. "I asked for his _name_ ," he growled to the Third, who continued to refuse to give the identity of the disobedient soldier in his rank.

"With all due respect, Commander, but he is MY responsibility."

" _HIS NAME!_ " Keevan's voice had risen so high it shook and bounced off the walls, echoing down the tunnels. The sound even rattled his sensitive ear lobes.

Remata'klan glared at him defiantly and stepped forward by three, towering down over him and not afraid of him. "I may not be First," he said softly and threateningly, "but I _am_ the unit leader. You may discipline _me,_ but only _I_ discipline the men. And that, sir, is the order of things."

His comeback and reminder of the "order of things" bristled Keevan, but he supposed he could accept that what had been done had been done. And no one from the Federation unit had been hurt, from his gatherings. If there had been, Remata'klan would have said so. "Very well," he said with resignation. "I'll leave him to you." But if only he knew the name, because disobedience wasn't tolerated on his watch. He could handle Remata'klan's questions, but refusal to follow orders wasn't on the chart.

"Dismissed." At his order, the men left them alone, and Remata'klan remained in his place, still gazing down at Keevan, who smiled perversely and unflinchingly as he took in Remata'klan's blank but fierce gaze.

"You've done well, Third. You may yet become First." But it was truly no, in his mind. Their time was coming sooner than they were thinking; it had been his intentions all along, but to dwell too much before would mean building it up so much that it collapsed in the end.

Now it was coming to fruition. All he needed was Captain Sisko and his doctor here. "Now...I have a new task for you."

~o~

Those Jem'Hadar being here meant they weren't safe, and who knew about their Vorta commander and his or her intentions. If they were to get out of here alive, they had to establish defenses, and now Benjamin was drawing out the plan in the earth before Miles O'Brien. Dax was still behind them in bed, trying to sleep but having a hard time.

"We'll establish three defense positions: you and Ensign Gordon on the south ridge, Lt. Neely near the lava tube, and Bashir and I near the dunes." He turned behind him when Dax joked about staying here and guarding her clothes and everything else, making him and O'Brien laugh, before Lisa Neely's voice sounded through his comm badge.

 _"Neely to Captain Sisko."_

"Go ahead."

 _"A Jem'Hadar soldier has just approached my position, sir. He says he wants to talk to you...alone."_

He stiffened and locked eyes with O'Brien. One of the Jem'Hadar was here; he wasn't surprised that they found their base camp, but he was prepared more than ever for whatever it was. And where was the Vorta? The Jem'Hadar were never without their sly commanders. Sisko stood and turned around when the soldier himself came in through the front entrance with Neely behind him, her phaser aimed at him in case he tried to attack. His arms were spread out on either side of him, indicating that he was unarmed; he either had his weapons taken from him before entrance or left them behind. What was it, a peace talk? After the shoot-out earlier?

Benjamin nodded for Neely and O'Brien to leave them be for the moment. From the corner of his eye, Jadzia's eyes were closed, pretending to be asleep so she could hear the conversation. "I'm Captain Benjamin Sisko," he said to the visitor, who bowed his head once in acknowledgement.

"Third Remata'klan." He had paused to see if the captain had his part to speak, but Sisko would not say anything until he knew why the man was here. "Two members of your unit are being held at our base camp. We'll exchange them for you and your doctor."

The deal was unexpected. Sisko stiffened his posture. "Why do you need a doctor?" he asked suspiciously.

"The Vorta has been severely wounded."

Well, it was stupid to ask, then. He should have guessed as to why Bashir was needed, but that begged the question - "And why _me?_ "

Remata'klan's eyes were unblinking. "The Vorta wishes to speak with you," he answered simply. "He wants to talk a deal."

He pondered this; the Vorta wanted him and his doctor in exchange of Nog and Mr. Garak. They were still on the hunt, so it seemed the Vorta wanted to catch the prey by switching with two lower ranking soldiers for the higher ones, one to save his own life and the other in the lead. He might as well end up bringing back the whole unit for his Founders and the smug Gul Dukat who took back his beloved station. "It seems like he wants to trade two low-ranking prisoners for two more valuable ones," Benjamin said coolly. "Would _you_ make a deal like that?"

"No." The answer was still plain and simple that it rattled Ben's nerves.

"Then why should _I?_ ' he countered.

"You shouldn't."

Sisko wanted to scoff; this man's negotiation methods were not up to the standards he expected. He clearly wasn't good other than simply striking deals. "You're not a good negotiator, are you?"

"I wasn't sent to negotiate," Remata'klan said, without a shred of emotion. "I was instructed only to deliver the terms." He kept calm and collective, presenting himself as every other Jem'Hadar Captain Benjamin Sisko encountered in conflict with the Dominion, even long before the war began: sharp, commanding and efficient. But apparently, lacking in negotiation unlike the Vorta, or his first-in-command, which put to mind First Omet'iklan from last year.

"Well, then, I want to talk with someone who _can_ negotiate. I want to speak with your First."

Remata'klan's answer surprised him. "There is no First. And no Second either. They were both killed after we crashed here," he explained. "But _I_ command the unit."

"Under the Vorta," Sisko stated, shaking his head. He must pity the man for remaining third-in-command for whatever reason, such as disobedience or questioning orders. "Must be hard for a soldier to take orders from a Vorta."

"The Vorta command the Jem'Hadar. That is the order of things."

"Obedience brings victory," he cited, and for the first time, he saw the slightest hint of surprise on the soldier's face at the quote of their sacred vow. A soldier's life meant fighting for his people, but the Jem'Hadar lived to serve and die, which was against everything Benjamin Sisko believed in. First Omet'iklan had made it clear during the joint Dominion-Federation alliance a year ago, which Benjamin now saw as his card to turn Remata'klan against his Vorta operative even if it wouldn't happen overnight. "Before the war, I was on a mission with the Jem'Hadar once. And oh, they were good. Tough. Professional. It was an honor to serve with them." It would have been a complete honor if the First didn't make clear of his despise of their people, but their commander...

"But their Vorta...he was something different." He gritted his teeth at the memory of the slimy, sickly sweet-mannered creature with the violet eyes and soft voice. "Manipulative, treacherous - trusted by neither side. But in the end, he was killed...by the Jem'Hadar First."

Whereas Third Remata'klan had borne the look of doubt and possible consideration of his words, now he looked surprised at the revelation of the Jem'Hadar who turned against his own commanding Vorta. "Surprised?" Benjamin asked, pleased that he might have done the trick.

The surprise vanished as quickly as it came back into the same air of blank professionalism. "Such things _have_ been known to happen, but they are rare. In occuring units that have lost discipline."

"Oh, you mean like a unit...marooned on the shores of a deserted planet?" Sisko challenged. Such as a unit capturing two Starfleet members, firing at the first sight of their senior officers, and then their handler ordering a trade for the captain and the chief medical officer because he was dying. Sisko wanted nothing more than to see him dead, but what would happen then?

Also, if Remata'klan was the leader of the unit now, why hadn't his Vorta promoted him to first-in-command?

The man himself seemed to have taken his words in, but chose not to disobey his commander. No surprise, but he was still a living being with a fighting chance. "The Vorta," he said, resuming the real reason why he was here and not to debate on resenting his injured superior, "has instructed me to give you assurance that neither you nor your doctor will be harmed. And you both will be free to leave at the end of your meeting." He sounded like he was bordering on losing his patience, but so was Benjamin. "What is your response?"

He was hoping he'd asked. "The word of a Vorta carries very little weight with me," Ben said coldly. Especially when they twisted your own words and your methods back onto you, possessing second tricks up their sleeves. Why should this Vorta be any different?

"Then you can have MY assurances, Captain," Remata'klan said through a tight jaw, "that you go free. I have been ordered to let you leave, and you can be assured I will obey that order."

Just what he wanted to hear. Sisko looked deeper into the Jem'Hadar's eyes and saw that he would directly follow through when the Vorta would trick them any time he wanted. "Agreed," he said finally after tense silence. "We will make the trade in one hour." And by one hour, the sun would begin to set. Who knew what colors would display on this desert of a planet when you agreed to a trade like this, and when you could not turn a loyal Jem'Hadar soldier against his Vorta overseer.

There had been at least seven Jem'Hadar on the ridge today, and that must have left two guarding the prisoners and the Vorta. Without Nog and Mr. Garak, that gave them a two to one advantage.

~o~

 _"My wounds will heal soon, and I'll be able to move again...even give myself to you, Annora, but only when you're ready. But know that since the Starfleet presence is here, the Jem'Hadar have to be taken care of so our lives will be saved. You will go back to your people, but I can't go back to mine."_

Keevan's words were crystal clear as soon as Remata'klan left to head to the base camp Captain Sisko and the others were. Sisko might not trust the word of a Vorta, but he had to if he wanted Garak and Nog back - and she herself wanted Keevan's life saved at once. They'd waited two days long enough on this rock.

But those two days had been the best of her life...and now it would be coming to an end.

Once she was given back over to the others and they would know she was alive, and Keevan giving himself up to them - it was clear behind his promise to never return to the Dominion - as a prisoner of war, then the two of them would be separated. It meant she might never see him again, or maybe she would, but on official reporter business. Unless she came up with some form of a solution to sneak to Starfleet Central Command so she could see him in secret...

She started to cry when she leaned against the bed, not caring about the hard rock agitating her back, and then a soft hand brushed against her neck and caressed her hair. "Oh, don't cry," Keevan cooed, massaging the nape of her neck and making her sigh. "I'll never go back to the Dominion as long as I live, but we'll never be parted completely. These Jem'Hadar around us and the entire Federation will be the only ones between us, and one will be taken care of soon enough. I might spend the rest of the war in a comfortable cell instead of executed and cloned again, but after that..." He sighed then himself. "I do not know. But there is still your marriage to deal with. How are you going to manage?"

She didn't want to talk about Jeffrey, not right now, but her throat was sore and squeaking with the words. "I don't...know. You know Jeffrey won't understand -" But she had to do something sooner or later. There was a possibility Jeffrey might not have been happy himself, either.

And right now, all she wanted to do was spend whatever precious time she had left with Keevan, the man she had truly fallen in love with, before Captain Sisko and Dr. Bashir arrived.


	15. One Last Time by Nightfall

**In my last story, I had more than just the main couple, but this one here has more focus on them simply because of how Keevan's story was minimalized. Although the goal for each story in the Vorta Brides trilogy is to make each story different and each couple unique in their own way, while overall keeping the same tone. With that being said in case anyone is internally complaining of the focus being too much on Keevan and Annora. And more characters' point of views will come along eventually, but I'm doing my best not to force anything.**

Chapter Fourteen

One Last Time by Nightfall

The exchange would be in one hour, Remata'klan reported upon returning. An hour it was; it gave Keevan plenty of time with Annora...and it was their last night together. He knew she was thinking the same, because here she was, crying when he'd never seen her do so before. He knew why; they had been rescued, but the situation was still far from over.

Either way, they would be separated.

He had waited all his life for her, and he did not want to lose her. But he would not let fear cloud his judgment. He might as well accept the fact; she was a Federation journalist and he would soon hand himself over to her side as a prisoner of war. Vorta were supposed to activate their termination implants upon capture; they were also supposed to have their Jem'Hadar kill the enemy at first sight, and the fact shortage of white was no excuse. If none of the above, he was also supposed to die and return as a new clone - but then he might not feel for Annora the same way, unless he physically mated with her, establishing the unbreakable link and passing it into his next incarnation. But he'd made the vow to never experience death in an unspeakable manner again. He would live not only for himself, but for Annora.

By going back, she would be going back to her husband she didn't love. He wanted to know that she'd...divorce him, however that was done. His people never so much as divorced; unbreakable bonds meant unbreakable. Never leave once you stepped into matrimony or a mating indefinitely. Humans weren't always that lucky.

She didn't finish after stating her husband wouldn't understand; of course he wouldn't. Keevan sighed and looked up at the ceiling, pulling the blanket higher over his body. With the doctor coming, he might as well remain naked - and that meant Captain Sisko would see him, but not as long as he kept this thing on. The doctor might only experiment on his side; no physician was ever without his medical kit, even during a maroon. He had never been happier; he would have been dead before if Annora were never here with her manageable abilities.

"But you'll have to go through with it," he told her, taking her hand into his. "Imagine the joy of freedom once you've gone through with breaking free from him."

She lacked his confidence; the courageous, spite-mouthed woman he first met had melted into a frightened girl just entering a new, foreign realm of the unknown. He'd entered unknown territory in his lifetimes, both thrilling and terrifying, and the results were always rewarding - except that one time. And this time was no exception. He'd put his own life, hers and the Jem'Hadar on the line...but he got her in the end.

"I don't know what's going to happen," she whispered, trying to pull her hand away, but he wouldn't let her go. "I don't know how he's going to react, and Jeffrey sometimes gets angry over the littlest of things, so I don't know how he will respond to a divorce. Especially during war."

In that case, he might understand that. There were more serious issues to worry about than a divorce settlement. And right now, he was thinking about what he wanted to discuss with Captain Sisko. The Jem'Hadar would go berserk in a matter of time, and time wasn't on any of their sides. But the settlement wasn't for another hour, and in that time, he just wanted to spend it with Annora. "Come here then," he said softly, stretching his arms as far as he could go. She moved over and rested her head against his chest, his arms coming around to keep her close, never wanting to let her go.

If she were _his_ mate for life, he would do everything to make her happy that her first husband never could do.

~o~

The hour passing by felt too fast, but being in Keevan's arms the entire time and kissing him sometimes was all she needed in that time. On the final day, you always spend it the best you could. She didn't want him to let her go, and she didn't want to let him go either.

"They're coming, you know," Keevan reminded her. "Captain Sisko and the doctor. They might be happy to see you." He managed a smile the best he could to try and lift her spirits up, but it worked only short-lived.

"Might be relieved, but the captain won't be so warm with me. Because I left the starbase without my uncle's permission." She readjusted her head against his heart so she could continue to listen to its steady beat, the rhythm music to her ears. "The day we first crossed paths, I tried to get a runabout from him, but he wouldn't let me, and I _needed_ my story. It's always been in my blood to rebel to get what I wanted. When I return, I'll be reprimanded clearly, confined I think, who knows. I tried to be a hero for everyone and instead got captured and a group of people killed because of it." She wondered if she could even try blocking it all out now that she began to truly feel anything that she disregarded her whole life; she knew what to expect from her uncle and Benjamin Sisko, and the rest of the crew would be happy that she's alive, but what about everyone else at the starbase?

Keevan blew out a breath. "Even in the Dominion, heroes are welcomed back and not failures. I believe I know what it feels like." But then he smiled again reassuringly. "But even when they don't welcome you back, know that you are far greater than you think you are, no matter what they may think. Always believe in yourself, never mind those around you. A good man taught me everything I know, and I knew it all myself long before I joined the Dominion."

His eyes glittered when they met hers, full of life, mischief and intellect. He was an outlaw like she was, both continuing to serve their superiors in their own ways, but he was in the stage of defecting from his side. He could not leave them so easily, so surrendering to the Federation was his best option in return for...

He intended to have his own Jem'Hadar killed to save both his life and hers.

A part of her thought it was sick and twisted to have his own soldiers sacrificed to save both of their lives, but at the same time, he was doing it for a good reason. The white supply would never be readministered on time, and they would kill not only the couple, but Captain Sisko and the others...and then themselves in the end. Keevan's actions were justified enough, but since Annora knew Captain Sisko too well, he would not agree.

And speaking of which, the footsteps sounded. Unwillingly and hastily, she lifted her head away from Keevan's heart and stood up, behind the head of his bed. The Jem'Hadar walked in - and so did two more faces she hadn't seen in days. They stopped where they were as soon as they saw her in her undershirt and trousers, beside the undressed but covered, injured creature on the makeshift rock bed.

"Annora!" Benjamin Sisko was rigid and visibly aghast at the sight of her, and - overjoyed? He took a few steps forward when she hurried over and threw her arms around his neck. A wash of emotion overlapped her senses; just seeing him again made her feel safe and sound. "Oh, you're alive. We thought you were dead." He drew back to look her over. "Has he done anything to you?"

First Garak and Nog asked her, now he was. She shook her head. "He's been fine with me, but he's been hurt," she said. "If you're going to lecture me about what I did -"

"No, you won't be," he interrupted. Annora blinked; what had happened? Nog had said he was beating himself up because her runabout had been destroyed along with the vessel sent by Uncle Bill, so was it a major epiphany and things would be different now? Looking deeper into his face, she saw everything and decided she couldn't judge too easily. She might have been angry at him in her youth, but that was a long time ago. She scolded herself, asking herself if she just now forgot that SHE had gone out rogue and tried to destroy the destination of that asteroid storage for him AND the crew.

Keevan's cough brought them both back to attention. Bashir had begun to run his tricorder to check the status of the wound now, and while he did, the Vorta focused his amethyst eyes on the man he had hunted for and waited to meet. "Captain Sisko," he said softly, chest heaving lightly and starting to shine with renewed perspiration, "my name is Keevan. We have...a lot to talk about." He looked at the doctor when the latter spoke.

"Not for a while, you don't." Julian shook his head as he took the readings; the infection was getting worse, the cut-off of circulation in his legs and that side only the beginnings. "I'm surprised you managed without me," he told Annora without a smile, but the praise was audibly clear, "but he needs immediate surgery now. I don't have any choice."

Annora bristled when all the Jem'Hadar, including Remata'klan, pushed her and Benjamin aside so they could gather around Bashir and his patient. The doctor seemed to misunderstand that the soldiers wanted to protect their leader, but none of them had true respect for Keevan. "I am a doctor," he tried to assure them. "I'm not gonna harm him."

Keevan chuckled at the misunderstanding. "They're not here to protect me, Doctor. They've just never seen what the inside of a Vorta looks like."

Another person hearing that would flinch at the deranged undertone, but to Annora, it made her thrill to her core because of the purr in his voice. The Jem'Hadar remained around Julian while he put the hypospray into Keevan's system so he could perform the operation, and in the meantime, she and Benjamin had a lot to talk about.

"Nog told me about Dax," she said softly, after they moved further away near the entrance. "How is she?"

"She'll survive," he answered, not looking at her for a few moments before finally looking down at her. He wasn't smiling. "And I'm happy to know you did. I wish I could lecture you again, but not in these circumstances. We all thought you'd gotten yourself killed this time; what did you hope to get out of going right into Dominion-Cardassian territory in just a runabout, unescorted by Starfleet personnel, and without a possible thought of the Jem'Hadar killing you without a blink or two? All for just a _story?_ "

A few heads of the Jem'Hadar looked over at his raised voice that their piercing stares made her hiss at him. "Keep your voice down, Benjamin," she snapped, her gratitude lost. They were back to the way they were before, but this would be - and she would make sure of it - the last time he would talk to her like this. She was a woman who didn't need to be told what to do with her life, or had _he_ forgotten that? "It wasn't just for a story," she said without a flinch. "But yes, I did want to be the one to destroy that thing myself. Firing with the runabout seemed logical enough."

He scoffed. "A Vulcan would use more logic than you did. And a bomb would have sufficed better than just the limited firepower of a single runabout, Annora," he said. "Like the one we snuck in and rocketed that place into pieces." So, the mission had been a success. Reporter instincts returned, but they were not finished. "I'm amazed that Vorta even wanted you alive. He could have used you against us for the Dominion and the Cardassians. Who knows if he's still planning that." If Keevan were conscious right now, his keen hearing would have picked that up without a glitch. Annora glared at him to keep his voice lower; how many times was she going to remind him? She wanted to say Keevan didn't, but he would bombard her and ask her how she knew for sure.

"I didn't leave the base for _just_ my story," she returned. "I did it for everyone else - including you, Uncle Bill, and the crew. I wanted to spare your lives after everything you went through in the last three months. Being hunted down by Jem'Hadar every day, and that luck can always run out. I knew you all would thank me for saving more lives instead of just standing by and sending out the news. I'm not a weak little girl and never will be, Captain," she said hotly, locking a match with his face. "You've known me since I was a kid, remember?"

All the signs of speechless were visible on his face; she did not ever remember rendering him speechless in her life, so this was a first. She had to admit, she was shocked herself and wondered if she said too much.

And then, to her additional surprise, Sisko burst out laughing. "Yeah, I have." In spite of herself, she laughed with him. "Annora," he said then, getting serious again, his face somber, "when your uncle asked me to find you, I was...worried about you just as much as he was. I didn't want to lose you because you were...just as important to me as Mia is. I'm sorry we didn't always get along, but now that I see it, you're a strong-willed woman who seizes every opportunity she does."

She did not mistake the passion in his voice when he took her by the forearms, keeping her eyes glued with his. He was apologizing, apologizing for their odd-ends and his sometimes-misjudgment of her. For the first time, Annora realized they were starting to patch up their rocky relationship.

"And if it makes you any better, once we get out of this, how about we do that interview," Benjamin told her with a little crack of the grin. "Just what you wanted: 'main ketracel-white storage facility bombed by courageous Federation unit and the journalist herself, Annora O'Neal.' I see it all to give more hope for those people out there who keep their hopes up each day."

She smiled softly. A good start to them being on the same page, for once. She could hardly wait to get back to her life as a journalist...but then it wouldn't be so meaningful because the first being who made her truly happy and understood her wouldn't be present as he was now. Looking over to the crowd of gathering Jem'Hadar, she wished she could see how Bashir was taking care of Keevan right now.

~o~

When you're under the influence of hypospray, you feel nothing, you know nothing. And you don't move a muscle. When he came to, Keevan felt disoriented, a common side effect, but otherwise, the pain was gone. His legs were slowly regaining their circulation, but he had yet to test it out. That would depend entirely on the doctor's orders. He looked up at the ceiling and could imagine the possibilities ahead, heaving a heavy sigh of relief.

"I am alive."

"No self-diagnosis, please," Bashir chided lightly. " _I'm_ the doctor here." He started to check the prognosis now, the Jem'Hadar disembarking to let the captain and Annora make way to hear the good news. "Your internal hemorrhaging has stopped, your free collagen levels are dropping, tissue growth manufacturing levels have stabilized - and there's a fifty percent rise in cell oxygenation." He looked up at Keevan's face with a slight grin. "You _are_ alive."

Keevan wondered if all human doctors were as kind as he was, or if this one was an exception. There were numerous Vorta physicians on Kurill Prime who treated all of their patients as equal beings instead of medical cases when the Founders only had them around for the sake of "no good dead until the time comes". He couldn't help but smile at the good doctor, happy at his renewed condition, but when he tried to shift his side, he uttered a gasp as he noticed he was still very weak. A few more hours would help his strength back. "Careful," Bashir advised cautiously. "Your insides are being held together by cellular microsutures and a lot of hope."

Never did he doubt the word of a doctor. He would gladly lie here a little longer, but prayed it wouldn't be too long; he waited forever for Annora and wanted their last night to be everlasting in memory. He looked up at the faces of Annora and Sisko. The captain was watching him with burning wariness, but Annora was smiling at him, wanting to lean down and kiss him if only her friends weren't in the room. And he still needed to talk to Sisko about the arrangement. He glanced over to the patiently waiting Remata'klan and his men. "Leave us," he ordered the Third, "and take your men with you." They obeyed, and Keevan was alone with the three over him.

Silence tightened the air for a few moments longer before Keevan motioned behind Dr. Bashir for the only hope for their survival. "May I have that case, please?" It was placed in front of him in no time. Punching in the code, Keevan continued.

"There are ten Jem'Hadar soldiers on this planet, Captain. And that..." He opened the lid and tilted it forward by an angle for all three of them to see. "...is the only vial of ketracel-white we have left. When it's gone, my hold over them will be broken, and they'll become nothing more than senseless, violent animals. They'll kill everyone they can: me, you..." Annora, his mind added when he briefly looked at her and back to Sisko. "...the rest of your men...and finally turn on each other."

The doctor's face was hard as rock, difficult to read, but the captain made it clear that there was more than he was telling. Sisko was a clever man; how could he not be? "Why are you telling us this?"

That question of all questions, but the time had come. Keevan could barely contain his inner excitement when he answered. "I'm ordering the Jem'Hadar to attack your base camp in the morning."

The captain and the doctor - and Annora - all looked at each other with a certain look that clearly said "If he's ordering his men on us, why is he telling us instead keeping it a surprise?" He smiled at them all.

"But," he said, getting their attention, "I will provide you with their precise plan of attack. You should be able to kill them all."

"They're your own _men_." Dr. Bashir remained ever stoic, but his tone clearly expressed mortification at Keevan willing to sacrifice his own Jem'Hadar because there was only one vial of white left, but if he didn't, they would all be dead. Keevan continued to smile delightfully, agreeing with the doctor.

Sisko interrupted the moment, impatient as ever and demanding more; Keevan was just getting to it, so why couldn't he wait? "You still haven't answered my question; WHY are you doing this?" Annora looked up at him with a slight frown. Keevan knew his face matched hers, because Sisko thought of him as insane like the rest of his people. He detested the idea that the Vorta would offer his own unit up for slaughter to save his own life. He wasn't surprised, but his "insanity" had reason that the captain didn't understand. He would never understand, either, that Keevan's priority concern was Annora's life. Not that it was important Sisko understood that or any other; all that mattered was that if nothing about the Jem'Hadar was done, their lives were done for.

Behind the group, the broken communication system sat against the rugged wall. "Behind you," Keevan said, motioning past them, "is a communication system." They turned around and spotted it. "It needs repair, but I'm willing to bet that you've brought one of those famed Starfleet engineers who can turn rocks into replicators." He grinned knowingly at them all when they refocused back on him, the men still obviously disgusted with him - notably Captain Sisko. "He should have better success at repairing it than a Jem'Hadar suffering from withdrawal. Once you've taken care of the Jem'Hadar, I'll give you the comm system...and surrender to you as a prisoner of war."

Sisko looked like he was tempted to take him in, but sickened even more that it was just to save his own neck, and the Federation would never sink low to anything like this - would he really risk his own life for his utopian ideals? Dr. Bashir sounded exactly as his captain displayed himself as he voiced his understanding of Keevan's terms. "And you'd spend the rest of the war resting comfortably as a Starfleet P.O.W...while your men lie _rotting_ on this planet," he spat.

"I see we understand each other." He couldn't have been overjoyed that this was working as he wanted it to; all of their lives would be spared from the monsters around them, regardless of the lines drawn before them. But he could see that Captain Sisko was still in doubt of taking his word...of taking ANY of this. He was on the verge of refusing this, still clinging to whatever useless Federation life-saving method there would be. Why couldn't he see that this was a "kill or be killed" situation now? "I'm ordering the Jem'Hadar to attack your base camp in the morning, regardless of whether you agree to my terms or not. So _you_ can either kill _them_ , or _they'll_ kill _you_. Either way...they're coming."

~o~

Benjamin wanted to leave and disregard the terms altogether; Annora could read it off of him, and Julian looked like he wanted there to be another solution - and there _wasn't._ The Jem'Hadar were still coming after them, and Keevan never wasted words. No Vorta wasted words; once an agreement was settled, you could never escape it unless you wanted the Jem'Hadar to kick your hide. She felt Benjamin's hand on her shoulder, urging her to come with him, but they were stopped by Keevan.

"I did not give you permission to take her with you, Captain."

Benjamin looked back at him with a poisonous look. "The girl comes with me and safely away from you and your soldiers. I don't trust them not to kill her when I came all this way. Her last days don't end on this planet." Did he think Keevan would hurt her after she explained that the Vorta _wouldn't_ or let his men do so? She still didn't understand some men, Starfleet or not. Keevan's smile dissolved into a scowl.

"You can be assured that she hasn't been harmed before your arrival and will not be now. You can have her back _after_ you've destroyed the Jem'Hadar; you can go ahead now, but I will call them and have all three of you restrained until morning. You wouldn't want anything unpleasant, Captain," he said with a devious wink. Benjamin's hand loosened on her. She looked up to see him rubbing his eyes before looking down at her, asking her for her consent.

"I'll be fine here," she assured him, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I can take care of myself, remember?" She hugged him and then Bashir before letting them both go. She was alone once more - and for the last time - with Keevan, now healed but resting for a couple more hours, and by then, night would set in.

"See, everything is going as I planned."

She whirled around at Keevan's obvious pride in himself. "But you know what comes when this is over," she reminded him. "We go our separate ways." As soon as she mentioned the possible outcome, her internal being began to feel very hollow despite when the night hadn't even ended.

He shook his head. "We'll make tonight count, Annora. As soon as I regain my strength, I want to make it the most memorable time of our lives." He raised a hand to throw his blanket off, exposing himself to her. Her eyes looked over that beautiful body which was supposed to exist in the imagination. The black hole in his side had vanished as if it had never been. "Come here and let me hold you again," he said, outstretching his arms again. "I want to savor the feel of you before we part for a long time. I have enough field experience to know we won't see each other for that period."

He was just as grieving as she was, but he was also trying to be as optimistic as he could be. Annora walked over and knelt down beside him, laying her head against his chest again, hearing his heartbeat quicken because of her. His heart beat that fast because of her...hers was picking up because of him, too. His wonderful body beneath her thrummed with heat, wanting her. Annora trailed a hand over his stomach and gently rubbed the middle, making him sigh with pleasure. Her face turned to see that his eyes were closed, his chest heaving up and down with her head still on. The simple music of Keevan's beating heart made her vibrate and melt internally. One wove itself through her hair and massaged her scalp, the other slipping underneath her shirt and caressing her back.

"You already know this," Keevan whispered tenderly, looking upwards and at the ceiling as he continued his ministrations, "but I love you more than anything in life itself. If I had you as my wife instead of that man called a husband, all I would ask of you was to love me in return without giving any part of yourself up. I would never trade anything I have but my service to the Dominion to live in peace, live free. I would have been called an illusionist if anyone heard me confess these dreams." His eyes looked down at her then, shining and honest...and loving. "Would you come away with me if I asked?"

Her entire life had been breaking barriers and breaking rules, never once stopping to think about the consequences much less care. Of course she would go with him anywhere, but the one complaint she would have was regarding her life's work. Novelizations and her news reports were what had become who and what she was; she still didn't know what to do if that happened. If there was anything that she feared, it was her career ending. She wouldn't always be happy just being a simple housewife. "Yes," she said. "I'd go anywhere with you."

He chuckled. "Even against approval of your people?"

It wouldn't be easy to defy them when it came to _this_ , but she supposed this would be a refreshing challenge to take. A matter of the heart was much more complex than anything else in existence. "I've always gone against anything."

"And that's one of the things I love about you." His hand stopped massaging her head and back, wrapping around her to pull her closer. Annora shifted and drew her legs on top, bumping against his, both their bodies together easily now that his was mending. "We're perfectly meant to be. That is why I wanted to know if you would be with me now, on our last night together."

She lifted her head again, biting her lower lip and stating the obvious, her body sizzling more against his. "You want to have sex."

Keevan chuckled and shook his head, brushing some hair out of her face. "No, Annora, I don't want to have sex. I want to _make love_." Making love sounded more meaningful than simply having sex. What had been called making love with her husband for almost five years could not be classified with the absense of that one important word. Keevan wanted to show her his love on a higher level, not afraid to rush and knowing he would never regret it.

Her nether regions were throbbing and moist now with his honest seduction, working to her core and mastering. She withdrew from his embrace and began to unbutton her shirt, exposing her lace-covered breasts to him again. His skilled, slender fingers had ignited her nerves, pleasured her breasts in a way Jeffrey tried to but never succeeded, and it made her ache with more fire than the Earth's crust could possess. The look on his face had been rapturous as he must have enjoyed touching and feeling her breasts in his hands, combined with the eagerness to please her instead of just himself, which made her happy. Laying her blouse on top of her bag, she reached behind her and unfastened her bra, tossing that over, too. Her breasts bounced lightly before Keevan's smoldering eyes. They took in her unblemished skin and small but voluptuous curves, a parted smile gracing his unusually soft features. "May I see the rest of you?" he breathed, purple eyes lowering to the waist of her trousers and beneath, where he knew she was aroused at his doing.

She knelt down and slipped off her boots, finally shedding her pants and the rest of her underwear. Naked, she turned back to Keevan and saw his eyes darken and enflame brighter than an inferno. Her own body burned on the outside as it did inside when her Vorta lover lay there waiting for her, looking over her body like it was a prized gemstone, which made her feel more special than when she married Jeffrey.

 **Rereading "The Only Option Remaining" by saphirefox-irl, where it is mentioned that Sisko didn't understand Keevan's plan, I thought it was perfect to make sense in here. :) But the sad truth was that the captain thought the Jem'Hadar were still beings that could be saved like he thought in the original episode; there was nothing to be done, truthfully.**

 **So, now Keevan and Annora have their first time, which will continue into the next chapter. ;D**


	16. Fatal Fruition

**I had all of this in the chapter planned from the beginning, and then I discovered "Keevan the Betrayer" by LiquidatorSasha. Keevan's such a sexy beast in both that and this, and to do IT in a CAVE of all places. XD Whoo, that's hot stuff, people.**

Chapter Fifteen

Fatal Fruition

"I thought you would rest for awhile to regain your strength," she reminded him, standing there in her naked glory once again before his eyes; everything about her was as he remembered. Just remembering how blazing she was in the oasis with him, her beauty exposed without a care whilst the Jem'Hadar were turned away from them as they enjoyed each other's arms around each other, made Keevan's lower heat twitch and tighten harder. She was Eve from the ancient Terran Bible, if you asked him, so that must make him the Serpent, because the Serpent tempted Eve into biting the Forbidden Fruit which tasted that much sweeter.

He couldn't wait any longer because they were both naked and desiring each other. He wanted her now, wanted to join eternally with her before the morning broke. It was all he could ever want tonight. "I'll let you show me how the notions are truly done, and once my strength has actually regained, it's _my_ turn," he told her with his famous grin back in place. He looked down at his springing erection twitching faster and sizzling uncontrollably in the nerves. "To think I waited so long for something like this...and you might enjoy this more than you ever thought you would."

She walked over to him and sat the way she always did beside him, the top and side of her backside touching his thigh and rubbing gently. He almost moaned. "You've never done this before, but you..."

"Had training," he finished for her with his hand coming up and caressing her bared back. She shivered at the contact; the Vorta touch was tantalizing without trial and error. "From a dear friend, Annora." And Weyoun had been the best teacher he ever had, no matter the heartwrenching refusal to link physically. "It's a shame you must not have had much teaching, am I right? Your husband never touched you in a way you would have wanted him to, and you weren't pleased with the way he wanted you to touch him, too."

She moaned when his fingers found the most sensitive parts of her back and sides, squeezing her hips. "Yes..." The word came out breathless; he'd hit the spot of triumph. He wasn't her first to be with as she was his first, but he would be the first one to make her feel beyond her wildest dreams.

"Turn around then, and let me touch you," he commanded softly. "We have all night, but we don't want to wait too long, do we?"

Annora turned around then, her entire front glowing before his eyes. A man's instincts with fondling a woman's body, notably her breasts, in other races but primarily in humans was absolutely basic bestial, which made him sick. Breasts were sensitive and prized on a woman's being; it was supposed to make her happy and not just himself. He'd touched one while she was sleeping, a second time with both of them covered - and now both of them were laid bare for his eyes and touch. He didn't have to ask her permission; he could see it in her eyes that she wanted him to touch her breasts. When he did reach up and cupped them both, he was pleased that they both still fit his hands perfect.

She whimpered and threw her head back, shoulders rolling back and uttering a moan then. "K-K-Kee-van - _Keevan_..." She could say his name, but that was as far as she would go, and they hadn't even reached the good part yet. His erection throbbed and burned, and he might explode soon if they didn't get to it.

His hands removed themselves from her breasts, the disappointment clear in her whimpering moan, and traveled down over her inwardly curved abdomen and stomach until he squeezed her hips, then gently tugged to guide her over his lap. She straddled him, and Keevan groaned at _what_ covered him for the first time. But first, the downey texture over her womanhood bristled his hardness, which poked through and found the sensitive pearl. The simple contact between that and his head made her suck in a surprised breath. He didn't enter her right away because she paused and simply rubbed herself against him as experimentation, this time a gasp coming. Smirking, Keevan reached over and ran his fingers through the curls, finding the slit in the front and some of her molten heat. She whimpered again, her eyes squeezed tight at the teasing. "Do you want more?" Keevan purred. She nodded, but he shook his head even though she didn't see him.

"I'm afraid I can't, because bringing you to the edge too soon means the fun is over too quickly," he told her, removing his hand from her weep. Annora's eyes snapped open, and her head snapped forward so she was looking down at him with wide eyes. Some of her hair had fallen over the left shoulder, above her breast. "Kiss me again."

Annora leaned over, the rest of her hair falling over that shoulder as she captured his lips with hers, the nerves taking their time in seconds before firing in all directions like fireworks. Keevan didn't understand fireworks, only that they exploded like bombs would, and with massive force...and he accepted it with more than just hunger. He accepted it to conquer his long-lived loneliness and despair, rejection by his nature and disapproved of by his so-called creators. If he was a fallen angel from that heaven, then the mortal world he lived in gave him a reward for escaping that false life.

He wrapped his arms around her and brought her closer to his body, her breasts rubbing against his chest. Keevan's body couldn't wait any longer because his sex rubbing against hers had no right to be delayed and opened his mouth to tell her so - but before he could say anything, all that could leave his mouth was an incoherent exclamation when slick muscles slid over him, tightening briefly before relaxing when their owner relaxed and sighed instead of cried; the first time in a female hurt all the time, but not with her because she'd done this before. Only she couldn't have moaned and sighed the way she was now. Keevan was tempted to shout to the jagged ceiling overhead and mock her husband whom he wished could hear him when he told him that he was giving his wife pleasure when HE never could.

She thrusted against him then, her body rubbing against his to create more friction and produce what he could call the sweat of labor - and by labor, he added it to the phrase "fruits of labor". Their cries filled the air and might have reached the Jem'Hadar's ears, but they wouldn't just run in to protect their overseer and the hostage herself once they knew what was happening. On the other hand, they might watch the show from the shadows because Jem'Hadar had never seen or engaged in carnal activity.

Keevan would never call this just simply carnal pleasure; it was much more than that. Besides his own hands exploring his lover's body, hers were caressing his sides and then his chest, coming up to his neck and collarbones, ending with his ears which were arousal-inducing as a Ferengi's ears. "Never stroke a Vorta's ears unless you mean it", as it went amongst Ferengi. "Oh, Annora, don't stop," he moaned, and she increased the pressure until she stopped on her own when her thrusting took control on its own. Her upper body elevated when she placed her hands against the rock on either side of his head for leverage, her head backwards again and unleashing the most primitive of grunts he'd ever heard.

His eyes squeezed back shut only briefly before he forced them open again when he saw the exquisite look on her face, and then down to her breasts again. Why was he so delighted with her breasts that much? He leaned up and combined both kissing and nibbling her nipples before lowering his head back to the rock of a pillow as she rode them both to the hit of home run, finishing off their consummation when the flames of the cave besides the lighting fixtures set up by the Jem'Hadar began to dim.

~o~

Her body was a living inferno, alight with an uncontrollable frenzy. Uncontrollable meant danger, but that didn't feel like it by a long shot. She just let herself go as she rode her lover on the rock. Being in the bed at home was more appropriate, but in a cave and on a rock instead of a real bed proved even more exciting. Keevan beneath her...it was too _exhilarating_ to be real. But she'd actually sat and laid, reversed back and forth between the two, on top of him while she did the work...her on top of him instead of Jeffrey being the one to do everything and be the dominant male...

Now she was lying on her back, some time later after the second round which was after their energy subsided only to flare again. That next time had been on the ground, on the spread blanket, allowing him to take the lead only because it was, unsaid, agreed as a equal turn. She was his first, which made her happy enough to make him feel the same way.

And he was the first to actually help her love him as much as he loved her.

She wasn't sure how much time passed before she awoke just now. She was still pretty warm - even more when there was another body on top of hers. He was still right between her legs, her limbs intertwined around him and keeping him in more than close enough proximity, and her arms wrapped around him, her hands now tenderly massaging his back in circles before going up to his ridged ears and hair. His ears were just as sensitive as his manhood still against her but not inducing the drive, only to nurture sanctuary. The memory of his body giving it all it had on top of her and growling like a beast as he worked her, nibbling her neck but not bruising or biting to draw blood was everything she imagined it would be.

Perhaps this could also serve as inspiration for her heroine later on when she and her patient finally got to it.

She wasn't using Keevan for her book, no way. Inspiration did not mean using for anything; it meant giving the creator an idea on how to bring their ideas to life. Everyone had some form of influence. But she wouldn't let that doubt get in the way of her love life. Looking down at Keevan, his face was buried in the swells of her breasts like they were one pillow. She'd discovered during both rounds that he enjoyed playing with her breasts because they were incredible for him to touch and savor, but also to make her respond and enjoy herself. Smiling, she drew him closer and buried her nose into his hair, inhaling his natural scent. Soon the morning would draw, and all of this would be over...

"Not if we can continue all night long, if you want."

His voice surprised her that she jumped out of her skin; when she did, Keevan lifted his head and smirked at her. Did he read her mind? He chuckled again as though hearing her. "Of course I heard your thoughts. You and I are linked now."

The word stopped her heart just once. Her mind was buzzing lightly at first before picking up a crazy rhythm. No longer content and sated, Annora quickly sat up and moved away from him, horrified at his words. "L-linked?" she whispered. "What do you mean... _linked?_ " Oh, it sounded very much what it sounded like...she stopped herself when she looked up and saw him crawling her way, amethyst eyes wide and pleading with her. It scared her now that not only their _bodies_ belonged to each other, but their MINDS.

"It's part of my people's culture," he said when they both stopped. He slid so he sat on his knees, but she drew her legs up to her chest. "When Vorta mate the way we did, either with our own kind or another, it's for eternity and unbreakable. Which means we can share each other's abilities and strengths, make us both stronger than before. Even speak to each other by means of telepathy; I promised you we would never be apart," he insisted, reaching over and trying to take her hand into his, but she wouldn't let him. She was still scared of this, but it also made her feel as he said it did: stronger and refreshed.

Keevan succeeded and took her left hand into his, smiling as he heard what she was thinking. But when he spoke, his lips weren't moving. _You feel refreshed, and so do I. This is what everyone else around us has trouble making last as long as it should. You're my soul mate, Annora, the thread connecting us together too strong to be severed. It will never be, not even tomorrow to come._

 _We'll always see and hear from each other, share anything we want, even teach the other what we can do that they can't._ She almost gasped; she couldn't believe she managed so fast. Smiling and laughing, Keevan started to move closer and kiss her, but Annora had been looking down over his body in her thoughts when she spotted IT, gasping in surprise. Frowning, he followed her gaze.

There it was: _her_ Trinity tattoo in the right side of Keevan's pelvic area, the opposite side of her own but still in the same region. He looked back up and smiled softly. "This happens when a human, most commonly, bears a mark in their flesh as you do, and a Vorta receives it. These are the bonds that matter most, and they are rare. The rarest are said to be the strongest of all."

~o~

Up to this very moment, sending his own Jem'Hadar out on a suicide mission, betraying them all for his own life - and keeping _Annora_ until the deed was over - made Sisko wish he could kill that arrogant, smug creature as soon as he saw him again. But taking him in to Starfleet for any valuable information on the Dominion-Cardassian alliance made him not shoot Keevan on the spot.

Since he and the crew took their posts at the canyon, he deliberately allowed himself to remember the previous night when they discussed killing these men, these soldiers of the Dominion, in such a deceitful, dirty-dealing manner. Dr. Bashir could have put them all under until they were rescued, then they would take them to administer their white. A soldier should never die at the order of his commander for said commander to save his own life; it was a selfish act, now that he thought back to Keevan giving away his unit's plan of attack. A real soldier never gave his own life up for the hell of it, either. But the ways of the Dominion would never change based on an individual's belief.

But the course of action had been set in stone since long before the debate. While O'Brien and the others argued that this wasn't right, Garak had made it clear they were all in the middle of a war, and the Jem'Hadar were NOT their friends and never would be. Benjamin agreed; there was no third option, not even that third option being surrendering.

There they'd been, coming to their position beyond the cavern to their base camp, phaser rifles lowered for now until they got closer. He'd been hiding behind a rock when he'd yelled out to Remata'klan that they ought to talk; the Jem'Hadar surprised him by agreeing. In all the years of unfortunate encounters and fighting the Jem'Hadar, he had started seeing a small amount of even the _slightest_ trace of redemption and turning against his Vorta. Just for that moment, he'd wanted to try one last time.

"There's no way out of this canyon," he'd told the Third, keeping his phaser lowered to his side, "and we have phasers locked on every one of you."

The Jem'Hadar had taken a quick look around behind Ben's shoulder, seeing none of the crew at the present but knowing they were there. "It appears you have an incisive advantage," he'd answered. "Very impressive, very sharp."

"To fight a battle under these circumstances would serve no purpose," Benjamin had said passionately. His morality, his consciousness and other parts of himself were still shouting at him that this was wrong to kill all ten of these anxiety-ridden, deprived creatures on this barren planet and then to leave their bodies to rot and fade like they did not matter. Of course, they were Dominion servants, but - "I'm prepared to offer terms, so here me out," he'd went on, ignoring Remata'klan's shaking head and lowered eyes, "I know you need more ketracel-white."

Remata'klan had looked back up then, almost humanly surprised. "My doctor can sedate your men, and keep them alive until we're rescued. After that, we can secure you in medical stasis until we secure a new supply." By this time, he was almost out of breath, yet he'd held Remata'klan's eyes with his and prayed this worked...but it didn't.

"The Vorta didn't give me the option to surrender."

Benjamin Sisko's blood had exploded as though on its highest pressure when the Jem'Hadar turned to return to his men. "Keevan's BETRAYED you! He gave us your entire plan of attack last night."

Remata'klan had stopped and turned back to him. "It was obvious that approaching your position in this canyon...was a deliberate tactical error on his part."

"You knew?" Of course he would, but it wasn't like he would question him any more than he did before.

"I suspected," Remata'klan had answered simply. "Despite what Keevan may think, the Jem'Hadar are often one step ahead of the Vorta." Just like Omet'iklan had been with finding about Weyoun's secret about the Gateways. And as a price, he was killed by his own first-in-command. Why couldn't Third Remata'klan do the same to Keevan?

"You can still stay one step ahead by surrendering," Sisko had insisted, almost pleading, wishing that they wouldn't have to still kill these soldiers in this environment, but Remata'klan was dense as ever.

"I have my orders."

Sisko almost growled with this waste of a term. "Keevan does NOT deserve your unwavering loyalty." He was a scum, conniving trickster and all terms related, just like Weyoun and the other Vorta.

Remata'klan exploded then, the final straw. "He does not need to _earn_ my loyalty, Captain. He has had it from the moment I was conceived. I am a Jem'Hadar; he is the Vorta. And that is the order of things."

"Do you really want to give your life up for the _order of things_?!"

"It is not my life to give up, Captain, and it never was."

After calmly answering him that way, that was the end of the discussion - and absolutely no chance of saving them. With that, Third Remata'klan turned and returned to his unit, leaving Benjamin Sisko to do the same, his heart in too much turmoil, but now wasn't the time.

He'd known what they would say before going into battle, since long before the crossfire began: "Our death is glory to the Founders."

By the time the smoke cleared in the distance, there lay all ten bodies of the Jem'Hadar killed. They were nothing but "roadkill" - the irony, given it was in no way different than a hit-and-run, like they were nothing but animals killed in the streets of Earth or any other planet and just left there. But the Jem'Hadar _wanted_ to die; it had been a waste to turn them against their Vorta. They made the decision to follow their orders, trade their lives for it; their lives were nothing but fighting to the death. The truth was that they were more loyal to their Founders than to the Vorta who were placed higher than them.

He was always sure to remember the lowly Jem'Hadar would always be more loyal to the Dominion than the higher placed Vorta ever would be.

He looked over at Bashir, who was over Paul Gordon's body. For the tiniest flicker of hope that the young Ensign was in shock - but then Julian's grim face and shaking head windswept that spark out for good. Gordon died for the unit, and he was a good man. Sisko lowered his eyes to the ground to try and clear his spinning head. "Captain?" O'Brien called, getting his attention. The chief motioned with his head to the distance where the ten dead still lay...and saw the two figures coming along.

He wanted to smile at the sight of Annora still safe, if only that treacherous demon wasn't with her, the comm system hanging by his side as he held his head high with that smug face he wanted to blast off with his phaser on sight.

~o~

His men were all laying on the earth, their corpses blown half to hell. It was only a figurative speech, but the Federation team did their numbers well. It was also a pity they had lost one of their own, but men and women _were_ lost every day in battle. Sacrifices were always made, and that man's life - as well as these - were cost.

As he walked amongst his dead unit, surveying their lifeless faces, he felt stronger than he ever remembered feeling. The fact that he had control for the first time in his life made him feel exhilarated - and now he was free from the Dominion. Free...only to be taken to the Federation as a prisoner of war. He would spend the war in a cell, interrogated perhaps for information which he would gladly do so if that would be the last thing he'd do.

Annora was still in shock that their minds were linked and could trade thoughts if they wanted to. _You'd really do that to help my people?_ she sent, keeping the smile visually from her face and allowing him to mentally see.

 _If the opportunity comes,_ he answered. _Anything to never return to the Dominion. They ruled my life long enough._

He paused when his eyes ultimately landed on the body of Third Remata'klan, the man who dared to question him but proved to be the most loyal. In the end, he died so, but the rest of his men were spared the misery of dying from loss of white in their bodies. At least Keevan knew he was kind enough for that.

Annora lingered beside him, shifting on her feet and looking between him and Sisko back and forth. He nodded for her to go ahead and run for them. Her message was uncertain: _I want to kiss you, but they'll see._

He was pleased she was learning so fast. His kiss he sent her was like a wave in the sea, but a gentle one; the feeling was unmistakeable. She sighed in response before running over to the captain and throwing her arms around him; he returned it with one arm around her waist. How touching, and he remembered they didn't get much along. _We made up,_ she sent. Smiling to one corner, Keevan called over to Sisko. "You know, Captain, if I had just two more vials of white, you never would have had a chance." By him not having a chance, that meant never having a chance to kill the monsters scattered across the desert.

He saw Sisko lean in to whisper to Annora to go join the others, and she obeyed. Then he turned his furious attention back to Keevan, whose sharp hearing caught on his words: "Chief, get this..." His words failed to carry out a proper insult, amusing Keevan. "Take him back to base camp and get to work on that comm system," Sisko said instead. "Lt. Neely, prepare a burial detail."

The Jem'Hadar as well as their lost man would be buried on this planet; a part of him wondered if the man had any family, but he guessed not. He continued to make unwilling - Sisko's part - eye contact with the captain until he forced himself to look away. He couldn't stand looking at Keevan. _He hates you,_ Annora sent. _Because of what you did to your men._

 _It was necessary, and you know it,_ he returned, still smiling as he looked her way. _I saved us all, but it was Sisko and the others who carried it out. What matters now is that we are all alive._

But that also meant today was the beginning of their parting. He was heading back to base camp beside the Chief of Operations who now had the comm system in one hand while the other grasped Keevan's right forearm, leading him away in the direction of their base camp. Along the way, Keevan found himself looking into Annora's eyes one last time...for now.

 **So, it's understandable why Keevan had to sacrifice his Jem'Hadar to save himself - now that a girl is in the picture, and even though a majority of the fandom hates him, it seems impossible now that we fully understand why.**

 **Annora and Keevan are finally BOUND, just like Weyoun and Mia - but now they are parted. :( The battle is far from over.**


	17. All Hails

**Early on, I said that Keevan's reason for living was because of Annora, and that is definitely obvious enough, and THEN I found yet another Keevan fic from a few years back that was never continued and has only a single chapter: "Harsh Words" by AxelIsWayTooSexyForYou. In it, after he is taken into custody, he reminisces on his one reason for keeping himself alive: his wife. This isn't explored much, but the author intended for it to be that they reunite eventually, but the sad fact is that it never happened. But this time around, Keevan has Annora. :)**

Chapter Sixteen

All Hails

"Ben, you are all alive!" All nine of them - including Keevan - were beamed from the planet and into the main cockpit. Another day on this planet, and O'Brien succeeded. But either way, they were all saved by none other than Uncle Bill, Jeffrey and some others. But she paid no mind to any of them right now.

Now Annora found herself meeting a pair of eyes she hadn't been hoping to see again. "Hello, Jeffrey," she said softly, nervously fidgeting the still-bloodied side of her tunic which had been used on the first day of that planet. It felt so damned...strange to be finally away from that place. That place which had isolated her from the rest of the universe, helped her explore the realms of herself she had never done before...but most of all, helped her fall in love with Keevan. Who was currently eyeing Jeffrey, whose back faced him, with the fire of a demon. _You can't stay with him._

 _How many times will I have to tell you?_ she sent back. _He won't understand, and I don't know how he will really react._

His eyes hardened and burned even more with his words. _If I wasn't cuffed and prepared to be taken to Starfleet Command, I'd strangle him myself and spare you the trouble._ His bold words shocked her, but he smiled softly, allowing his stoic shell to fall by the slightest, but then arms wrapped around her and held him close to her. She stiffened because she didn't feel anything and did not welcome the embrace from the man she married barely five years ago when she was still in school. Hesitantly, she returned the embrace, all the while looking over Jeffrey's shoulder and seeing Keevan's hardened features and blazing purple eyes.

And that was the last time their eyes met, for sure this time. _Only for awhile,_ he sent as he was led away by the Starfleet lieutenant assigned to her uncle, who came up to her, smiling. All she could do was smile back and accept his embrace instead - but for some reason, she did not feel any warmer.

"Don't worry, it's not like I called Mom and Dad," he joked, caressing her back. "I'm not as mean as they are. Just glad you're alive; I was worried for you, but I knew you would be. And no need to worry about being confined to quarters when we get home."

"Thanks, Uncle Bill," Annora said, hearing the orders spoken that they would return to Starbase 375. _Welcome home_ , she sent sarcastically to Keevan who sent her another wave of a kiss for assurance.

Being back here, she, Sisko and the entire crew were hailed for the accomplishment of destroying that ketracel-white facility - the main storage of Jem'Hadar survival - and as soon as they were given privacy, she was given the opportunity to interview them all right away and include herself in the deed. For the rest of the day, it felt like an out-of-body experience; it didn't feel real, yet it was. She felt like this before with all of her news articles - but this time was more extreme because this was life-changing for her. To think she almost regretted her actions, but they also brought her this reward not only for herself and the other people around her, and the others out there who were looking up to and counting on them.

It also brought her to Keevan.

The Federation News Service would be pleased with the progress and the immense risk she took by going out on such a dangerous mission during wartime with one of the greatest Starfleet captains of all time. But a part of her was feeling guilty about keeping one secret she considered gravely important from them: even though she would always be known as voluntarily coming along for the ride with Captain Benjamin Sisko, the truth was that she set out alone and got captured by a Jem'Hadar unit that crashed on the same M-planet Sisko's unit had. The Jem'Hadar themselves were all killed in a crossfire, their Vorta leader taken into custody; the true story behind that would remain as it was, which was that he willingly sacrificed them to save himself.

Annora knew she was feeding lies with the truth, and it made her ill no matter Keevan's comforting words: _It is as it is, my love. Don't worry_.

Now she was in her and Jeffrey's quarters, getting ready for bed while her husband had work to finish. It gave her time to sob and cry in the bathroom, safe from his unexpected eyes. _No, it never will be. This is wrong, and I see it all completely now. You shouldn't be in a Starfleet detention cell; you should be here with_ me _. I should get my divorce no matter what I thought before -_

He cut her off then. _You should, yes, but not when you're like this. Now, please pull yourself together before he comes. He will know something is wrong and will get you to answer whether you like it or not. Do it for me._

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, swallowing the hiccups. He was right, she had to keep cool. When did she ever start being a scared little girl? Mia was always the one to weep at moments like this, but Annora had always been the one to keep her emotions in check. Keevan always mastered his emotions until he exposed them to only her and another Vorta he spoke of so fondly. _Who is he?_

 _You know him already; everyone knows him, and they hate him and respect him at the same time. He's the Founder's most cherished out of all Vorta._

Annora felt all of her insides stiffen at once when the truth dawned on her right away. _Weyoun..._ Her train ended there when she heard her husband's voice on the other side call for her. "I'm almost done!" she called, pulling her robe together and pressing the button to open the door into the bedroom where Jeffrey sat on the foot of the bed.

He gave her a little smile. "You feeling better, babe?"

 _Babe_...that word was used by anyone as an expression of endearment on an adolescent level. She'd always accepted it as affection, but not now. "A little," she answered, finding it difficult to look her husband in the eyes, and he noticed it. Jeffrey was always good at catching on, even when they were still at the academy.

"Being on that planet must have done a number on you," he said. "I was afraid you were dead, along with your uncle and everyone else." He stood up and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her from behind when she turned away. He buried his face into the area between her neck and shoulder, kissing her skin, but the shiver she received was tingling unpleasantly. "But it's a good thing that part is over, the main storage gone for, and that monster locked away. One less of the Vorta to worry about."

Inwardly, she seethed at how ill he spoke of Keevan. _Let him talk of me that way; I can take it from him because he won't ever know that I hear every word of his through you._ She almost jumped before remembering she was still in her husband's arms, and Keevan laughed. _If you want to learn to block certain things from me, I ought to teach you how to very soon._

 _I could use it,_ she answered back. Jeffrey's teeth nibbling her earlobe made her look back up at him. "You're so quiet, Annora. Maybe I should help you take your mind off from those things now that you're safe again?" He reached for the sash of her favorite robe, but she resisted for a moment, making him frown. "You don't want to?"

Annora swallowed but held herself together. "Of course, but I feel so tired." She saw the little hurt in his eyes and instantly felt guilty. "I'm sorry, Jeffrey. I really want to spend the first night back with you, but I'm tired."

He let her go then, the short-lived warmth vanishing as quickly as it came, and he didn't look at her anymore. _Oh, God, no._ Now Annora felt guilty, and there was only one thing to do as much as she hated to and would regret it for a long time - and it involved betraying the one man she truly loved. She walked back up to Jeffrey and kissed him on the lips, undoing her robe sash and guiding him back over to their shared bed.

~o~

His cell was comfortable enough, given a bed, mirror and all the necessary necessities, and he had privacy - except being surveyed by the security staff of the center. He could spend his days in contemplation and awaiting any Starfleet officer or official to come and ask him of anything to help them win against the Dominion and Cardassia. But today he would be alone.

Alone, laying in bed and facing the wall so the cameras wouldn't see him in pain. Both physically and emotionally.

 _Annora...oh, gods no...not you with HIM..._

Annora had managed to respond and send, but blocking thoughts was another field she had yet to master, and he'd offered to teach her...but now she was unable to block him from seeing as well as _feeling_ her have unfeeling pity copulation with her husband whom she had made it loud and clear she had no feelings for since the beginning of their marriage. He saw and heard it all from start to finish: she was tired and tried to use it as an excuse to avoid making meaningless love with him, he didn't take it well and turned Annora into a pity machine to submit. She didn't care about anything, yet she cracked too easily this time.

Keevan wrapped his arms around himself and tried to stifle his choked sobs, squeezing his eyes shut, but a couple tears slipped past the dam and flowed down his cheeks and onto the bed. He curled up into a fetal position, crying softly as his heart wrenched so immensely he thought it would crumble. The woman he loved with another man...he did his best to block the rest of it out since he knew what would happen in the end of the act. But Annora wasn't at fault; he forgave her for it, but his heart was in too much grief. It was supposed to be HIM in her husband's place. A part of him regretted surrendering to the Federation, but he did it all to live for her, so it was hard to completely hate himself as he knew the Founders loathed him for deceiving them all, his fellow Vorta - especially Weyoun - and his own Jem'Hadar who would forever lay buried in that planet's earth.

~o~

It had been days since the return to the starbase. The first night back had been all she could think about as she tried to go about normal while her uncle and Benjamin tried to figure out what to do next. She tried to concentrate on her book when all that clouded her mind was having what Keevan called "pity coupling" with her husband - how come she could not block it from him and WHY did she let her emotions overtake her reason again?

Keevan was heartbroken and devastated more than she could bear. She wanted to apologize to him but wasn't sure how to. Apologies were too easy, but she had to patch it up. Her mind was just racing with how to. _How do you want me to apologize when we both know it's too easy and won't be forgotten or forgiven so fast?_

All he did was sigh and shake his head. _I don't know. I just don't know...but I do know for sure you are not to blame. He manipulated you even when it wasn't intentional, just like he did to you that one time he made you go down on him._ She flinched at the memory as well as his choice of words. _You're alone, physically._

She was currently in her quarters that morning, for the novel still needed her attention. She didn't have it in her to even get dressed right now, just laze around for awhile. This wasn't like her except on slow days, and today was normal as it was. This bond had brought both bliss and burden into her very being - and it had done the same to Keevan. _Did you know this would happen?_

 _Yes,_ he responded readily. _I feared this a long time before we were together. The soul mate bond is not only eternal bliss and happiness, but it is also extremely painful. Besides faithfulness, when one of the mates dies, the other lives in extreme grief and sorrow forever, hardly ever moving on from losing the one they love. With cloned Vorta, even if death lasts a few days, perhaps weeks, the sorrow remains as powerful._

So if Keevan died, she would feel the pain and fall down that abyss. She had never experienced that before, so she had no idea what to expect. And it scared her, because grief could change not only yourself but others around you. _And if anything happened to you,_ Keevan sent with as much conviction, _I would never forgive myself. I would NEVER find another mate to compare to you._

Annora threw her head back in the chair she sat in and closed her eyes. He was so loyal to her, and they'd known each other for only two days. How come this happened amongst Vorta when other races took their time, and that this was never to be taken so lightly?

She never saw Jeffrey all day, so this time and since the last few days, she was glad that she didn't see or hear from him today. All she wanted was all the time with Keevan - if she had it in her, she would go all day and so on for the rest of her life this way, as much as it was painful, but Keevan persuaded her they had all the time in the universe even despite the war, and that she had a duty to honor. But he would be there for her in every step of the way. _And besides,_ he teased, _I could be of use with your novel._

 _And how?_ she returned with a smirk as she turned the PADD on. _How do you intend to aid me with the journey of these two, both psychologically and emotionally - as well as spiritual?_

He responded by sending an indescribable wave even more powerful than just a kiss, and it wasn't just her lips; it traveled further down south to the tops of her breasts and nipples, the latter parts tightening like pebbles. She couldn't stifle a gag of a gasp at what Keevan was doing to her. _Oh, God, what's the purpose -?!_

 _Don't you think in the near future it's time she gave in to him? He ought to find means to break out of his cage - even though an Earth institution is close enough of a prison - to steal her away, steal her heart and mind as I have done to you? He'll have his means to crack her until she gives in to him..._

The ordeal seemed to last forever until she reached her peak, and she could have sworn she felt her arousal seep down the inside of her thigh. Oh, was she glad no one was here to see her embarrassment. And Keevan was laughing it off that she had to do the same, because now she had a clearer direction, but that wouldn't be another two chapters from now.

The day ended when there was the announcement that a lot of people would be aboard the _Defiant_ for the mess hall ritual. Annora had been invited, of course, and she could hardly wait to hear Ben's speech. This ritual had become a part of the end of the day over time. Despite the toll of the scouting for any more Dominion patrols in space, everyone in the starbase was still determined to win the war.

"Well, how's the new book going along?" Dax asked her when she joined the Trill along with Bashir and Sisko. "Hoping for it to be out soon, I hope." After seven lifetimes and currently in a twenty-eight-year-old's body, Jadzia Dax was still the one to lead the way with matters of the heart besides logical reason. If anyone, Annora could sometimes compare her to the Vulcan Spock, for being the captain's best friend and the brainy science officer. But Jadzia was also more than just the brains; she was a formidable fighter just like the rest of them.

"It's coming along now that I have a better direction," she answered, just as Cadet Nog came along with four glasses of whiskey that he somehow made a deal for. After all, he might be a striving ensign, but he was still a Ferengi. Nevertheless, it was damned good whiskey.

Miles O'Brien came in then, and in his arms was a discharged power cell - another usage from the last mission that he presented to his captain who proudly took it. "Take a good look at this, people," he said to the rest in the mess hall, beaming. "It says something about this ship: we will fight, and we will keep fighting until we can't fight _anymore!_ "

Just like the Irish said in their beloved "Ireland's Call": _we will fight until we can fight no more._ "Yes, sir!" she shouted along with everyone else.

"We don't just throw something like this away as though it means nothing!" To demonstrate, Ben walked over to the rack on the wall at the other end, placing this newest addition with the others before it; there were six already, and one more made it the lucky number. They needed all the luck they could get.

"No, sir!"

He smiled broadly even more and placed the power cell with the others, and applause roared up until Nog shouted the announcement of "Admiral on deck!"

~o~

Admiral Ross looked anxious, which made the joy fade instantly. Benjamin left the crew and followed him out into the hallway. He was glad that Annora didn't follow them this time, but she knew her uncle well enough that good news was rare unless the other person presented it to him. "What was that about?" William asked as soon as they were alone, outside the mess hall. Sisko laughed lightly.

"A ritual that evolved. It helps the crew unwind."

Ross smiled finally. "Well, they deserve it. They did a hell of a job."

Ben was grateful for the compliment, but he knew that wasn't the only reason why the admiral was here. "Ever since the war began, the Dominion has been able to outmaneuver us at each turn. Whenever we send our ships, they seem to be there waiting for us. It's enough to make you think they're smarter than we are."

"It looks that way," Sisko muttered. The Dominion just thought they were better than the Federation, with more sophistication and deadlier weapons that they could hide as well as any fly catcher until the insect was snatched and crushed.

"They just have an edge we didn't know about...until yesterday," Ross said, pausing in the middle of their walk and facing Benjamin.

So, the Dominion had a strategy of keeping track of every Starfleet ship that found them, so they could either run or shoot at first sight then flee. "Tell me what it is," Benjamin pried. William sighed and looked down at the floor.

"Starfleet Intelligence has located a massive sensor array near the Argolis Cluster, the damned thing monitoring movements over five sectors," he said bitterly. "It's better than we thought. They have an enormous technical advantage that I want _you_ to take away from them."

Well, he would gladly do so, but he needed to see that intelligence report, accepting the PADD from the admiral. This was all he needed, and he would spend all night awake if he had to so he could give Ross the attack plan by the morning. If those sensor arrays were down, then the Federation were free to be one more step ahead of the enemy.

 **"Ireland's Call" is a traditional Irish song, and the version I love the best is by Celtic Thunder. :)**


	18. Domestic Disputes

**For all of you mad at Annora, you don't have to stay mad any longer because she KNOWS she made a mistake, but she's still married, which she WILL fix soon.**

Chapter Seventeen

Domestic Disputes

He smiled to himself as he dwelled back on the debriefing meeting in the conference room, pleased with how smooth it went. Although he had to admit it felt most unpleasant with their eyes burning with such hatred. Vorta were confident and immune to such stares, but ever since he became a voluntary prisoner, that meeting rendered him even more cautious and stoic. He had faced opposition countless times, although it was safe to say this environment did not compare to the Cardassian prison.

The sensor array manufactured by the Dominion had to be taken down; because of them, the Federation was losing every day. With that display down, Starfleet would be able to move quickly without losing their targets or getting any of their prized ships blown up. It was no less than the almighty Founders deserved. Keevan was proud of himself to give this information away, but he knew that it was up to them to figure out how to take it down themselves. Remembering the disdain on their faces was too priceless to forget.

It wasn't that he didn't want Annora to know just yet; he simply blocked her from knowing until she found out the news herself. She would handle her own affairs as he would handle his own; that was his own brand of the "order of things". He smiled to himself as he lay in his bed, staring up at the ceiling with one hand behind his head and the other across his abdomen. Everyone had their own parts to play.

~o~

So, according to Starfleet Intelligence, the Dominion sensor array near the Argolis Cluster, which was home of the Tagra system, was capable of detecting cloaked ships as far as two light-years away. And once the _Defiant_ went around the cluster, then the Dominion would be aware that they were there. They would be in for a hell of a surprise, but Ross remained wary. "You'll have a dozen Jem'Hadar ships on you before you could get that close," he pointed out.

Sisko cracked a small sneak of a grin. Surprise was always the best gift anyone could have, and he always loved them. "That's why we need the element of surprise, Admiral."

"What are you suggesting?"

"That I take the _Defiant_ through the Argolis. _Through_ it, not around."

Ross shook his head. "You won't be able to make it. You'd be cut to pieces by the gravimetric distortions. All of you at the mercy of abnormal graviton particle impairment isn't a risk I don't think I can afford at this time." He could express his concern at another time, but Benjamin knew how he felt because he and the crew endured abnormal graviton particles before, on a certain planetary system three years ago which appeared and then vanished once every six decades. But this time was no planet; this was the Dominion thinking they could get _through_ the cluster and get the damage treatment.

"That is what the Dominion thinks, but if we come at them from the Argolis, they won't know what hit them. Dax says she can navigate around the gravimetric distortion. She studied protostar clusters, so she knows where to look." It was all a gamble, but it was one he was willing to take. After all, what would happen if you just sat back and did nothing?

He waited for another moment before the admiral nodded. "Alright. When can you leave, Captain?"

Sisko grinned proudly. "As soon as we finish the repairs."

~o~

The _Defiant_ was still undergoing its repairing from being on the run and shot at by Jem'Hadar attack vessels, and it's new commander - Dax - would take it out as soon as it was finished, which would be either tomorrow or the next day. For a moment, Annora wondered why, and soon learned it when she overheard Jeffrey talking to Dax during a lunch break.

The Dominion had a great sensor array beside the Argolis Cluster, a reason why they managed to evade or destroy Starfleet ships at every point and angle. Now there was a plan to slip the _Defiant_ through the cluster so they could surprise the Dominion scouts guarding the array and take it out in a flash. She couldn't believe it; they were being tracked at every turn, but now the source of it was going to come down, and she prayed that they would carry through with it; they always made it through and succeeded, but she would never settle on being calm only to burst with horror and despair when the news came back with tragedy.

Benjamin wouldn't take the loss of his crew well, either, but he trusted them with everything he had. There were times he lost sleep over fear for them and the plan not going accordingly; failure always sent him downward spiral until he was forced to shake back to reality. Her uncle would be the one in this case to do so. A little part of her was mad at him for keeping him here instead of out in the trenches, but another captain was called away that Sisko was needed to fill her place on the Bolian operation. Not that Annora doubted him for this, but he was better out there than here on the base. Nevertheless, Uncle William's order was standing.

And from the sound of it, Jeffrey was... _flirting_ with Dax. She watched as her husband took the Trill's right hand into his and briefly brought it up to his mouth to briefly kiss. In response, Jadzia giggled before quickly pulling her hand back and walking away from him - and in Annora's direction. She saw this as her opportunity and called to the Trill science officer.

"Annora, what a surprise!"

Jeffrey caught sight of her and nodded, half-smiling before turning to head off in the opposite direction. For once, Annora was glad to see him leave. She turned back to Dax. "If this isn't a bad time, I'd like to...confide in you," she said carefully.

Dax laughed and shook her head, her ponytail swishing behind her. "Girl, you know you can talk to me about anything. What are friends for?" She wrapped an arm around her shoulder and guided her in the direction of the mess hall. Annora's stomach grumbled itself, and it shot through all the channels of her very being besides her empty belly.

"How about marriage material," she said.

Jadzia beamed when they both got into line for the replicator. "Being married for over four years while I'll be married for the sixth time by the time the war is over," she gushed. "Dax went through all five before, but as Jadzia, it'll be my first. But as for you: this is your first marriage and lasted so far. You're married to a great guy. Flirty, loyal, handsome..."

Annora quickly cut her off. That night weighed too much guilt on her shoulders. She'd betrayed the man she loved, but she was also still married to a man she'd known long before him, but he never really made her happy the way she deserved to be. If she told Dax about the new man in her life, there would be a parade of pries. "Jeffrey doesn't really...make me happy," she whispered as soon as they both reached the replicator and Jadzia ordered her meal. However, she stopped when she picked up her tray and looked at her with puzzlement, brows furrowed. Annora turned to the replicator then and ordered her turn, following Dax to their table.

"If you're not happy, why did you marry him? And _why_ did you stay married to him?"

"Because the type of love I saw you and Worf have..." Annora swallowed. "...I always thought it existed only in what I prided myself with ever since I was younger. That type of love that younger people dream about never existed. That was why I married Jeffrey; he was just right there, and I never thought I'd be so lucky. I thought I could love him that way, but it wasn't there. I stayed with him for the sake of it, because how would another man put up with me the way he does?"

 _I do._ Keevan had heard every word she said, and she could see and feel his smile entering her very being. He was proud of her that she found the courage. _I love you for this. You may yet find freedom from a doomed marriage worthwhile._

"We have a problem then." Jadzia sighed and put her utensil down. "Being in a doomed marriage one hundred percent spells doom in its name. Curzon was never married and had a series of love affairs, but I've been married five times before. A divorce on Trill happens but almost never..."

She was happy the Trill understood how she felt, but she had to interrupt and bring in the important part of her worries. "But we're in the middle of a war. How can I bring this matter up when there is still the Dominion and Cardassia to deal with? And how do I tell Jeffrey I thought I loved him but never did?" She shook her own head. "He might say that being stranded on that desert planet screwed my head up, but perhaps it was for the best. It brought me to reality."

The look on Dax's face clearly said there was more than she was told, and how right she was. But she didn't push. Annora was grateful, but eventually the truth would come out, and the Trill might as well be the first to know.

"What you should do is tell him sooner rather than later," Dax advised. "The longer you let a lie live, the harder it is to kill."

~o~

 _I'm going to ask Jeffrey for a divorce as soon as he finishes his shift._

Keevan felt like he was over one of the moons of Kurill Prime as he considered leaping off the bed and floating around the room with uncontrollable joy. Annora had finally come through and courageously decided she would finally end her sham of a marriage. Yet he could see that the weight was heavier than ever because of the fear of her husband's response. They had known each other since Starfleet Academy, and she always knew what to expect of him - but not this time. _If he hurts you, then go to Captain Sisko._

He sensed her shaking head. _He has too much on his mind as it is. He's not even on the field and worried about his friends enough as it is. I don't want to add to his problems._

He could see it happening, but he also knew that was to be her option once things got out of hand. If that man ever so much as laid a hand on her, Keevan would make him breathe his last, make his last hours of life more humiliating than he ever experienced.

~o~

The _Defiant_ had been gone for sixteen hours, and Worf was worrying for his fiancée which he ought to not, but Sisko understood exactly how he was feeling. Perhaps it was because of the fact he wasn't there to lead like he always did, even though he trusted Dax with every ounce he had.

Ross both assuring him and reminding him that he would be here awhile and with the crew taking the _Defiant_ on future missions without him didn't help his slowly faltering sanity at all. He'd been losing sleep, count that as an addition. It had been two days since the receiving of this mission, and now it was late into the night. It hadn't been that long since Ross left him, and now his office buzzed when he took Bill's words to heart about the important decisions to make tomorrow; thousands of lives did indeed depend on it.

"Come in!"

The doors whooshed open. "Ben."

The familiar voice shocked him. He spun around from the window displaying space and stars to see a face he didn't expect to see at this hour - something was not right. "Annora, I thought you'd be -" He stopped in time when he saw that she was still in her nightwear, barefoot and her hair in a thick curtain over the left side of her eye. In a strange way, it was like Mia's right blue eye in contrast to her natural brown, a replacement from surgery over an accident she had as a child which Annora sometimes blamed herself over. Silly to think of the past when the girl injured had survived, but Mia would have been dead if Jennifer hadn't been the one to rush her to the hospital.

Annora slowly raised her head and looked at him through her exposed right eye. "I'm sorry, Ben," she said softly, timidly and so unlike her. Benjamin felt his posture stiffen when she took a few meek steps into his office, and the doors closed behind her. "I know it's late, I didn't know you'd still be up, and I didn't want to bother Uncle Bill; I didn't want to trouble..."

She stopped there when she realized she was rambling. Sisko willed himself forward, impulse on the rise and taking her by the arm to lead her over to his desk. "Annora, tell me what is..." He trailed off when she pushed her hair over her shoulder and exposed the rest of her face. He sucked in a breath when he saw the reason for hiding half her visage. "My God, Annora, who did this to you?" he asked softly, seething and clenching his fist.

Annora's left eye was surrounded completely with purple-red bruising, ending high on her cheekbone. She was vulnerable, the way Mia ought to be, but not Annora O'Neal - or Annora Ross, the spirited, willful girl who never cared if she crossed the yellow and red lines. But she still looked him square in the eyes when she answered him softly.

"It was Jeffrey."

~o~

"Annora, I want you to tell me _everything_." Ben's voice was dangerously soft and filled with malice at knowing that her husband did this to her, the woman who was the niece of his commanding officer above his station. Her face was still stinging from the first blow she received from Jeffrey for the first time since they were married - for the first time _period._ It was well past twenty-four hundred, but she couldn't sleep and had to forcefully wait until her husband was sleeping to sneak out of their quarters. She'd seen Uncle Bill along the way, but she didn't want to see or talk to him because of how things were between him and Benjamin right now.

Keevan was beyond enraged, boiling to the top point. _I warned if he laid a finger on you..._

 _You will, but not now,_ she'd interrupted so she could try to devise how to tell anyone without exciting a blowout. She'd been - and still was - afraid of ending up in a domestic situation, because she'd studied it all her life. As it turned out, reading about it and experiencing were separate things altogether, but she knew what to do. And right now, all she wanted to do was to tell the other man she trusted and sleep near him for the night. If he would let her.

"I will, but if you promise _not_ to tell anyone else," she said firmly, gripping her hand into his. He nodded and said nothing, but his face was hard with suspicion and primitive anger. "Well, there is no easier way to say this, but I don't love Jeffrey anymore. In fact, I don't think I ever did, because of how we rarely had time together since graduating school, how we lacked intimacy, and some other things. I tried to be a good wife and he tried to be a good husband...but I never felt anything working out. I never even noticed before until coming back to this starbase."

"Hmm." He was nodding, though a part of her felt like he didn't understand because she was a female, but he'd been married once. But he'd lost his wife on that horrible day. "You know, I always knew you got married too soon, but it was your decision to make." He sighed and reached up to rub his eyes. "I should have expected it going this far, but I never expected him to do...that." He lifted a finger to her bruised eye but didn't touch it. Annora drew her head back.

"I had to tell him. It was...it was too much to keep it in any longer," she went on, on the verge of crying now. "I didn't want to burden you or Uncle Bill with this because you both have too much on your hands -"

"And your husband surely has the same on his."

She nodded. "But it had to end. I tried to tell him that I still cared about him, but as a friend." The memory of him exploding on her and cursing her out like she'd never been cursed before opened another crack in her heart. She tried to block out the heat of a fight but was unable to; if only Keevan were awake right now, but she didn't want to disturb him from his precious sleep. "But he wouldn't have it. I just...don't know what to do right now, or how to continue with my job with all of this on my mind." She leaned into him then, his arm wrapping around her. She wished she were a child again, just this once, so that they could go back in time and had a better relationship then. But if that happened, would they still have been the way they made up now?

Sisko let loose a heavy exhale. "That makes us both, sport. But take it from me: thousands of lives depend on us no matter our personal fears."

Annora nodded numbly. "I wish I didn't marry so soon, because I was so happy with my life and my career, everything going so well for me. But it was my stupid fear of dying alone." And that fear got the best of her, stupid reality of the "perfect man" being the real one in front of you and not in your imagination. "If it's not a trouble, I want to spend the rest of the night with you, Captain. I don't want to go back to my quarters, to him. Just for tonight."

 **In one of my favorite Tyler Perry movies, "A Madea Christmas", Madea accompanies her niece down south to visit the niece's daughter who refuses to come home for the holidays, and the reason is because she marries a white classmate from college and living on a farm. Eventually, the favored pistol-packing Madea tells the girl's husband that "The longer you keep up a lie, the harder it is to kill." Truer words have never been spoken. :)**

 **Annora had to go through with finally confronting her husband about a divorce, so it was hard. :( And it was also hard to envision Jeffrey's reaction to his wife finally telling him the truth - sans the mention of another man in her heart. Her going to Captain Sisko was more appropriate despite his hands full, and she will most likely refuse to press assault charges against her husband.**


	19. Engage, Retreat, Assault, Fight Back

Chapter Eighteen

Engage, Retreat, Assault, Fight Back

Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax cringed when the _Defiant_ tilted slightly to the side; they were leaking plasma from the rear end, and it was a miracle it did not explode while it was still on the run from the latest Jem'Hadar attack ship. Now that the Dominion sensor array was down, they were back to facing more of the Dominion on their tail; the _Defiant_ would be back to more damage and repairs from Chief O'Brien the best he could do. Even while she herself was captain of Benjamin's favorite ship, things were no different than when he was still in charge.

She had to keep reminding herself this was only temporary, but she was actually more comfortable than Sisko teased her not to be. But with comfort came responsibility; she took that wisdom to heart a long time ago. Jadzia had been young and vibrant, eager to learn and lead, work alongside and for anyone she crossed paths with, and the Dax symbiont inside her fused with her and made her wiser than she was as an unjoined Trill.

And right now she was overseeing the safety of not only her life and the others around her, but this ship's function and getting them back to Starbase 375 alive - if no more Jem'Hadar ships came across their paths again, which was unlikely. But at least Worf and the currently cloaked Bird of Prey, _Rotarran_ , were as near as they could be. If they had established communication at the present, she would have blown her future husband a kiss for luck, and Worf would accept it with the best of a smile he could manage. He was pretty gruff, some people would easily say that, but that was one of the things Jadzia loved about him that she was happy to marry him. He had the heart of a lion and the ferocity of his people, but also soft like a Terran puppy. That last one would be something Mia Sisko would say.

She turned away from the computer which read the ship's conditions. Their weapons were currently off-line - for the sake of saving energy - and the shields were down to thirty percent. Currently, Cadet Nog was doing the best he could to send out a distress signal to anyone around. And according to O'Brien, any ship within a hundred million kilometers would find them in this position.

"Captain," Nog spoke up, "we have company. Two Dominion ships bearing 197 mark 135."

"They'll have us in weapons range in...twenty-two seconds," Miles added. No sooner than that, the red alarms blared. Great, now that the weapons were off for now and the shields on their near lowest, best to hold on.

The Defiant shook with a shot, sparks flying about their heads. "Shields down to twenty percent!" Nog shouted. With the rate dropping that hastily, they would all be toasted in space...

The viewscreen showed both Jem'Hadar ships coming back around to shoot at them again - at the same time the _Rotarran_ decloaked and let loose a blast on the vessel before it. Time to get the weapons back online and what was left of the shields to join the fight. "Fire the main phasers!" Dax commanded, ready to take the last ship this time. The last Jem'Hadar vessel's rear faced them, exposing the vulnerable spot to the main phaserfire and leaving it to its doom so the _Defiant_ could trail after Worf's commanding Bird of Prey. But first... "Cadet, any other Dominion ships out there?"

"None that I can see, but the _Rotarran_ is hailing us. Commander Worf wants to speak to you."

"Onscreen." She heaved a sigh when her fiancée showed up on the viewscreen.

 _"Well done, Captain. You were a very effective decoy."_

Jadzia grinned and leaned over. "Well, maybe next time we switch roles and _I_ rescue _you._ "

He grumbled and shook his head at her joke; he was more serious than she was. "Captain," O'Brien said grimly, "orders from Starfleet that all ships pull back to Starbase 375."

She almost groaned. Fall back _again?_ They played this game every day as of late: engage, retreat, engage, retreat, et cetera. Even Julian commented that the only song they might as well end up singing was "All Hail the Conquering Dominion". Normally Jadzia would laugh, but this time was not the time. And none of them would end up EVER learning a song like that. "Worf," she said while pacing, "we'll meet you at Starbase 375 at warp seven."

For the whole ride back, she was ready to explode. She had a reputation - and so did Curzon often - to challenge her own authority for the right thing, but sometimes challenge was a way to earn respect. In this case, the continual pulling back was in no way getting anything done. She would not just sit back while the Dominion just kept coming back for more. The Federation was honorable and righteous, but drawing back like cowards? Even the Klingons loathed cowardice.

She stormed past everyone else and made way for Ben's office. He was looking over a PADD when he looked up and gave no reaction to her bursting bubble. "I don't know," Jadzia huffed, her lungs burning with each breath and word, "what all of you brass-heads in Starfleet Command are thinking, but take it from a simple field officer: we are NOT going to win this war by running away from the enemy."

"I know that," he answered simply, putting the PADD down and not blinking.

Dax sputtered at his lack of a response. Was he _really_ sinking that low with Ross and the others in Starfleet Command in pulling so many of their best warriors out of the field to protect their own lives since they were so limited nowadays? She knew him better than anyone else; there wasn't much of anything he could do now that he was just sitting in an office at Admiral William Ross' order. "Benjamin," she said passionately, "true morale is an all-time low around here nowadays. Even the Klingons are starting to wonder if we are _ever_ going to defeat the Dominion. We need a big victory, and we need it _soon._ "

He shifted in his chair, his hand still elevating the side of his head; it had been that way the whole time. "I couldn't agree with you more. In fact, I already intend to do something about it," he told her with a little wink. "I intend to propose the plan to Starfleet at eight hundred tomorrow."

Jadzia couldn't help but scoff. "What plan?" Nothing he ever planned was preposterous, but it better be better than something -

"We are going to retake Deep Space 9."

~o~

She took one more look at herself in the mirror before brushing her hair and putting it into a ponytail. The bruise on her eye was slowly fading, but she kept it covered up with what left of her skin toner she possessed. Benjamin had let her stay in his quarters last week and for a few nights in a row, until Jeffrey came to try and talk to her. He had somehow found out where she'd been staying at night all this time and thought he could get past the great Captain Sisko to attempt to "mend" with his battered wife.

Battered? It had been only one time, but she felt like the trust that once existed between them had been abused. She didn't want to press charges because he was still the Jeffrey she knew; he just lost it out of anger. The strike was the last straw, and so was three nights ago when Jeffrey tried to convince her and Benjamin he didn't mean to hit her, but Benjamin defended her on the spot when she tried to talk him down.

 _"You're extremely lucky your wife didn't agree to file assault charges on you."_

 _"Captain, I meant no offense! She's my wife and I still love her - but to know she doesn't and never loved me to begin with was the least I expected! I honestly do not know anymore, and she had to bring it up while we are in the middle of a war of all times!"_

 _"Well, whether it was a hell of a time or not, she came to her senses. Did it ever occur to you she might have said yes to your proposal out of a sense of obligation, Jeffrey? I'd say it was wrong of her without examining her feelings for you any further, but you did not have to lash out and strike her."_

It was then that she decided to step in herself, because the entire time she heard the back and forth banter between her husband and Sisko, she felt out of place and could easily speak back now that she was protected. _"Jeffrey, I still want you as a dear friend...but I don't think you and I were ever meant to be married. We were young back then, eager, and now we have lives and careers, but we were apart so much of the time. I'd have thought you noticed yourself."_

He'd lost it. _"Keeping up a false marriage with someone who was blind to emotion after a year of us together, and almost five more to come?! Annora, I honestly don't know how to deal with you anymore. My own wife of four years doesn't love me!"_ He'd thrown his hands in the air then and sighed in exasperation, turned away from her for the moment, back facing her as he tried to pull himself together. When he did, he'd turned back to her and disregarded Captain Sisko the entire time when he finished.

 _"If you want to go ahead and leave our quarters together, be my guest. But we're far from finished."_

She wasn't a precious doll to be spoiled and pampered, so she didn't care if she'd been tossed out of her own quarters or not, but thankfully Ben allowed her to stay with him for as long as she wanted. "I could use the company," he'd told her jokingly. Jeffrey had returned to work and allowed her to clear out what she owned and moved into Benjamin's quarters; he had a spare room that hadn't been used. Ever since she relocated in with him, she had to admit she felt a lot safer now.

And just now, when he returned at the end of the day, he was smiling even broader than she'd seen him do lately. She looked up from her PADD - she was now on the fifteenth chapter of her novel, and perhaps three or four more to go and she was done, and she had to admit she was very proud of it so far - when he came in and let loose a "Whoo" of relief. It made her want to laugh, and he looked at her, chuckling and shaking his head, bringing up one finger and waving it at her. "You're going to want to have this one as a hell of a story if your uncle and the others in Starfleet approve."

Annora frowned. Dax and the others had got back not that long ago, and the _Defiant_ needed yet more repairs. That damned ship always coming back with more blows was destined to be made the butt of a joke, but war meant leaving nothing without a spot. Beside the point - "And that is? Because I have a story that's nearing completion," she said, waving her novel PADD in the air. Inspiration thanks to her latest experiences as well as a certain someone who had survived a week in Starfleet detention.

"Oh, you're going to want to join the rest of the crew to celebrate too early, but I know that you know your uncle won't refuse this. I intend to take the _Defiant_ and whatever fleet reinforcements so we can take back Deep Space 9, force the Dominion and Cardassia to retreat back to where they belong for the time being."

She dropped the PADD to her lap in a mild state of shock. He intended to risk his life and the crew - and a fleet or two - on a _suicide mission_ to retake Deep Space 9?! "Oh, Benjamin!" She was suddenly overwhelmed with happiness and joy; he and the others would return to the place where Mia and Jake still were, and to think they wouldn't be touched again by the Dominion OR Cardassia, but hold that station for sure once they took it back...

~o~

While he was still living on Deep Space 9, he would enjoy a nice home-cooked meal made by his own hand and for Jake and Mia; replication could do so much. But while you were in the field - and in the office - you had to make do with what was provided for you. Right now, he was prepared to enjoy a little breakfast with Annora before he would take off for the conference with Admirals Ross and Coburn and the Vulcan Sitak; he would already know what to expect from an arrogant, logic-reasoned Vulcan.

He awoke just as the computer chimed the time of six hundred and thirty hours, at the same time he heard a noise outside his door. He left his room in time to nearly run into Annora. She was coughing and covering her mouth, looking up at him with glazing, red-rimmed eyes. She was sick and crying? He frowned. "Don't worry, I probably just got a little fever or something," she told him.

Benjamin wasn't sure if he believed it was a fever. She had been ill ever since last week, since the morning after she stayed the night with him after her husband struck her down. "Maybe you ought to see Dr. Bashir," he suggested. "Because a fever for nearly a week is a bit of a warning sign, if you say so."

She nodded and turned back into her bedroom, maybe for more sleep. He wanted to ask if she took anything to ease her stomach, but the doors were already closing. Shaking his head, he went back into his own room to clean up and then dress for the conference soon.

And when he did, it ended up as one hell of a debate, but nothing like this was ever without one.

"By putting together a task force composed of elements of the Second, Fifth and Ninth Fleets, I believe we CAN retake Deep Space 9, the most important piece of real estate in the Alpha Quadrant," he said with dignity and confidence, ignoring the wariness of the three admirals before him. Starting with the Vulcan herself.

"Your plan isn't without merit, Captain," she said, "however, I remain skeptical. The Dominion will undoubtedly send out a large fleet to stop you."

"And it _will_ advert their forces and slow their advances at Federation territory."

"As well as leave their flank vulnerable," Ross agreed, showing more confidence, the first Sisko had seen in a long while.

"Which means," Benjamin went on with more conviction, "it will give us the chance to be on the offensive side for a change." All of this running away wasn't making this better as long as Deep Space 9 remained theirs and Cardassia's once again.

Unfortunately, there was still someone doubting this whole plan of a retake mission. Admiral Coburn raised his hand with objection. "There is still one thing that concerns me: Earth. You've left it a very tempting target if you head out on this mission, and if we lose more of our fleets - and you and your crew - then the Federation crumbles and leaves Earth to the Dominion."

That would happen definitely if they weren't careful, but there left the Third Fleet. The Third Fleet would protect it as long as the Second, Fifth and Ninth went out. But what if they were all wrong? Coburn's doubts were still on guard, but Benjamin had to keep his faith in this plan. Doubting was never good, not even during war. Doubting did more harm than good.

Besides that, Earth wasn't the key to the Alpha Quadrant. The _wormhole_ was. And whoever controlled Deep Space 9 controlled the wormhole as well. The wormhole was where everything they held dear in the galaxy depended on it.

Count in the lives of everyone aboard that station - including his own children, Major Kira and Constable Odo - and the other lives in the whole Alpha Quadrant.

~o~

He'd been here for over a week, and being bored weighed heavily on him. Aside from a routine of laying in bed and conversing with Annora through their bond, he was given access to the showering facilities - accompanied by guards, of course - so he could keep himself cleaned up instead of rotting away, and his clothes kept in shape even if he wouldn't be given a new set anytime. However, he was fed whatever slop the other prisoners would get, not that he minded. He wouldn't be able to taste it anyway, but it was better than nothing at all.

He had gotten these privileges after being unable to take it anymore, just at the start of the past week. All it had taken was when the infirmary's nurse came in to check on him as she would do to the other patients weekly, he put on the sad face and asked her to kindly speak to the staff about giving him a spot in the facilities as he wasn't even granted to try to escape them, because they ought to know what the Dominion was capable of with traitors. His convincing might have done its magic, but he was still given two Starfleet escorts to keep an eye on him at all times between the showering routine and anything else he would ask - with the exchange of anything else that could benefit the Federation. But as of now, unfortunately, he had nothing new to give them because he was no longer an active, loyal servant.

However, that was only a half-truth. If he had anything to add, it would only be when they planned their next strategy of attack and decide to turn to him, he would gladly exchange. If only there was a way to get them to bring Annora to him...

He sighed blissfully when the sonic vibrations coursed over his body, emitting the tingles of pleasure he was given only ten minutes each morning to experience. This was one of those private moments - the guards standing outside and keeping track of time for him - he was given time not only to clean, but to pleasure himself and make it last while he could. He deliberately let his mind be opened to Annora so she could see what he was doing to himself each time, and some of those times was when she was in the middle of work or around others; he loved her blushing furiously when he aroused her in front of her friends and colleagues. This was his role of mild dominance over her.

Keevan looked down at his impeccable body, bringing his hands over himself, and massaging his shoulders and sighing at the pleasurable tremors. His fingers glided over his chest and briefly pinched the nipples; he uttered a shuddering moan at the electrical jolts from the sensitive nubs to the rest of his body, shooting straight down south to his slowly hardening member. His hands moved there, rubbing his belly in the process until his fingers found the beginning line of the hair between the juncture of his thighs. Who would have thought that sonic vibrations were a perfect addition to growing arousal and limited time...

"Vorta!"

His eyes snapped open to the two figures outside his private sanctuary. Their backs were still turned to him, but it still frustrated him. "Yes, officers?"

"You have five minutes left. You better hurry."

He was tempted to lose control and knock the both of them unconscious for interrupting his rousing moment, but he had no choice but to finish what had begun. He shut his eyes tight and found the heated, tight skin of his fervent longing, his fingers closing around it and pumping as fast as he could go. He bit his lip and whimpered, trying not to cry out, when he plummeted off that cliff and into the pit, his fingers coated with his own fluids that were soon gone - and that was the end of his session for now. He felt tired and wanted to return to his cell now.

"Hold it there, Vorta." He stopped when in the middle of tugging his shirt over his head, looking up at the single officer in front of him. Where did the other go? The man was human, middle-aged apparently, and all Keevan could read off of him was that he hadn't been with anyone in a long time - and that was enough to tell him that not everyone in Starfleet was as noble as they were portrayed.

And the look in his eyes was no different than the way those Cardassians looked at his predecessor.

"What will you get out of raping me in the sonic shower while your partner is gone, wherever he is now?" Keevan tried to be his usual sly self, but it was too difficult given that he might be violated and the act would go unpunished because he was nothing more than a prisoner and _he_ a higher officer. How could he have thought Starfleet would not have men like this? Some men, no matter the species, were predators.

Annora had been listening to his thoughts. _You have physical skills in yourself, like I do. Fight back if he attacks you._

The man just laughed and advanced on him, pushing him back into the sonic stall. "He's gone off to a break just six minutes ago, and that time alone is enough for me to punish you, little Vorta," he drawled, pushing his body up against Keevan's half-dressed one. One hand was roaming up his chest, the touch vile and cold that he hissed and locked his glazing amethyst eyes on his would-be violator's.

"Punish me for what?"

Two fingers grabbed a nipple and pinched painfully enough to make him cry out softly. The gleam in the man's eyes was pure hatred, nothing like Captain Sisko or any other Federation hero. "For just being a Vorta, a servant of the Dominion - and a traitor to his own kind, no less. Sacrificing your Jem'Hadar to save your own skin, that's a cowardly act. And for just your behavior whilst in here, all comfortable and languishing, praising yourself for being alive and not even flinching at the deaths of others!" The hand let him go only to come back and strike him; his cheek stung, but he would not cry. Keevan would never give him the satisfaction. The anger and humiliation through his body fired him up with more energy than he anticipated, Annora's words being the plasma fuel to add.

The hand reaching for the waistband of his pants and cruelly grasped him set him off. Snarling, Keevan brought his fist up and punched the man in the jaw. His assailant exclaimed in shock and let him go, but Keevan didn't get very far and felt the back of his trouser grasped and drawing him to the ground. The cool air attacked his bared backside the same time he hit the ground facedown, and he knew this was it. He quickly closed the door between himself and Annora, not wanting her to see and suffer what he was about to for a second time -

 _No, NO! I won't activate my termination implant! I made the vow to NEVER do it; I won't let imprisonment in Starfleet take over me like that time -_

"Hey, let him go!"

He quickly looked up to see the other guard coming back and seeing everything. His partner, however, was too stoned shock to move away from Keevan who still lay half-naked beneath him, and the feel of the air on his skin was enough to finally will himself around and onto his back so he brought one of his legs up and kicked his almost-rapist square in the midsection, sending him backwards and hitting the wall of the sonic shower. He grinned with satisfaction and looked at the fallen guard as he stood up and readjusted his clothing before walking over to retrieve the rest of it. He looked up when the other, younger guard spoke into his comm badge and called for more security to back him up.

But Keevan paid no mind to the incoming backup. All he could think of was how he took control and sent his attacker down to where he belonged - and it made him feel so much better.

~o~

Just today came a crypted message, and it was decoded in no time, but the results were grim when Benjamin read it with William Ross: _the minefield to the wormhole entrance will be down in a week. The station's deflector array has been turned into an antigraviton emitter to destroy the mines._ The date written was four days ago, which meant they had three days left. Annora was with them when she read it with them, and she was paler than ever. He knew it was not just the fact that she was still ill; she feared for the entire Alpha Quadrant if those thousands of Jem'Hadar ships ever came through.

"Are you sure this is reliable, Ben?" her uncle asked hesitantly as he held it up for him again. Ben nodded and took the long slip of symbol-etched paper from the admiral to reread it again. The courier had been Morn, one of Quark's favorite customers who was visiting his mother for her birthday. He knew for sure that Morn himself couldn't have been the one to completely stay in touch with the minefield news. There had to be one person or two to get it out - Mia and Jake. They somehow used Morn to get the message to him. He smiled and praised both of his children for their brilliance and courage.

"I've known the courier for five years," he answered, keeping his attention on the screen which displayed the entire Alpha Quadrant - most notably the Federation symbol that was Deep Space 9. "I trust him."

"Then we have a problem," Annora said grimly when she took the message from him and held it in her hands. "According to this, the minefield comes down in three days. Three days...not enough for the backup fleets to come, especially the Ninth."

"She's right, and it won't be here for at least four," her uncle agreed solemnly, hopeless once again. Benjamin turned around from the board and looked at him without emotion on his face or in any part of his body other than one in particular: determination.

"Then I suggest we go without them, as well as the Klingons. We've run out of time, Admiral."

A moment passed that he expected Ross to raise an objection, but now that they knew the minefield would be destroyed in three days, the admiral had no choice but to accept his proposal. "If those Dominion reinforcements come through the wormhole, we'll lose everything."

But not if they destroyed the one thing that the station held which had become the only weapon to annihilate the self-replicating mines before the one entrance in space which everything depended on. "Then," Sisko said, "I suggest we take the ships we have and fight our way to destroy that antigraviton emitter. It's our only hope."

"Do it." Ross' entire face was as hard as his heart - and Ben's - was. He was more than prepared to meet up with the crew to prepare to depart and attack, drive those monsters away from their home, when Annora stopped him and hugged him furiously.

"If you succeed, which I pray you do," she whispered, "please say hi to Mia for me."

Ben looked down at her and smiled. He would certainly do that for her. Mia would be happy to hear from her old friend again - but first came the hard part. This was their last hope as another step to winning the war.

 **I really hated doing that to Keevan, but at least he didn't get the entire treatment his predecessor did. :( And a part of me knew Starfleet wasn't WHOLLY perfect. But if anyone objects to that, be my guest, but still, nothing and no one is ever perfect.**


	20. Syrup of Salvation

**I have to admit that I really struggled with what ought to happen to Annora's husband so she could be with Keevan, and when it would take place, and I seriously hope this is satisfying enough.**

 **I noticed that I am lacking reviews from anyone besides one person. I respect that everyone would rather enjoy, but it's nice to hear how people think. I'd appreciate a "good work, I want more of this" or something similar. :) I'm always hungry for that.**

Chapter Nineteen

Syrup of Salvation

Captain Sisko and the crew had gone as soon as the briefing was over. Annora remained behind in her uncle's office, looking over the crypted message that she'd decoded herself; decoding crypted messages was one of her talents. Her heart was thumping faster when she counted down the amount of time that was three days left - and if those twenty-eight hundred Dominion reinforcements swarmed in from the Gamma Quadrant, the Federation was done for. Welcome to Dominion rule, her mind sarcastically jeered.

If the Federation fell, then she would end up like everyone else: she'd be forced to serve the enemy, and executed if she refused. The same would go for her uncle. And Keevan would might as well suffer the same fate since he betrayed his own kind. And Earth would be targeted and made a controlling example against those who would dare to oppose their conquerors.

Annora turned to the window and gazed out to see the _Defiant_ 's remaining trail, visible as it was. "Don't you dare fail on all of us," she hissed, half to herself and half to the departing crew back to reclaim what was theirs. She nearly jumped when another hand came onto her shoulder and squeezed it, but she did not feel the assurance.

"Worrying won't help, you know that," he told her. "Keep your head high and pray with me." He took her into his arms despite the fact they were both in his office and that someone else could come in. But how could it be unprofessional? She was Admiral Ross' niece.

She had every reason to worry, for obvious reasons. She'd faced capture and near death, took down a Jem'Hadar during a petty argument on that planet, but she'd never been in a real combat battle before. A small part of her wished she was out there helping in that situation, and another rebuffed the idea, scolding herself that it was brash without merit. She wasn't a soldier, but she _was_ a voice for peace.

 _You shouldn't go out there to battle, to join them alone, Annora,_ Keevan chided her. _You'll be killed for sure. Didn't last time teach you that?_

By last time, he meant her actions which brought her right to him. She didn't regret encountering him in any way, nor did she regret her rebellious nature in any way; nothing about being marooned with him changed anything about her, other than her marriage which was broken at the seams, and she and her husband now separated. _Yes, it did, but I just hate being helpless. It's always like this every time I learn enough for my stories to show to the others out there staying in touch. Their feelings of hopelessness compares to mine, but I live among others fighting for that freedom for those people._

 _I understand what you are feeling, but you can't always be there. I go myself whenever the opportunity presents itself, but there are limits._

She scoffed at his words. _We both don't care, remember? We walk through the limits like they aren't there. Remember that?_

 _Indeed, yes._

The incident two days ago had not repeated again, but it was also too soon to think it wouldn't happen again. A guard had tried to _rape_ Keevan - _MY Keevan_ \- and it was a _Federation_ security guard! The Federation was supposed to be filled with noble men and women, but this one had proved to her it wasn't entirely as spotless as everyone had seen it. But at least Keevan fought back with what little strength he had, and there was more that he had to bring out. He needed to toughen up some more like she pushed her own body's limits for; Vorta weren't physical beings, but very few of them _were_ , he said. Natural Vorta namely; clone was rare to none. But his mentor, Ambassador Weyoun whom she despised the most, was the first known to either of them.

She looked up with her uncle when the lights overhead flashed off for a moment before they came back on, and the whole base was wracked with an impact before all was calm. Annora and William found themselves on the floor, her on top of him much to her own embarrassment. "Are you all right?" he asked. She nodded, but she couldn't speak. What the hell had happened?

 _"Engineering team to Admiral Ross."_ He tapped his badge in response and answered. _"You better get down here. There was an accident down below with the main generator. Four are dead, six injured, and the area is secured, but we're working on determining the cause."_

Annora slid off her uncle and watched him make way for the door. Worry coursed through her. The last time she heard from Jeffrey today, he'd be downstairs in that _same area_...

~o~

The guard who attempted to humiliate and violate him was restrained and given a leave of absence, and Keevan had been held for questioning about the incident, all of which he responded calmly with a smile; internally, he was proud of himself for fighting back a second time around. He never thought he had such strength in him; if only Weyoun could see him now. He would tell him that not only he'd fight for himself, but for the woman he was forever linked with. With the two of them together, _nothing_ would tear them apart - not even the Founders.

He added that last part himself, smirking to himself after the final crunch on the floor beside his bed. His muscles were straining with lifting his upper back up off the floor while both his feet were firmly planted on the floor; it was difficult to keep them horizontal while he elevated his back up and down twenty times. Annora wanted him to do this, as a start, and he hated her for it. He didn't mean it offensively, just that he had no other choice in the matter, and he had no access to weaponry and targeting practice.

He'd told her Vorta were not physical creatures, but unless they linked with another being who possessed such qualities, then the Vorta would become so with more practice. He was exhausted to his bones, but at the same time, he was refreshed and had so much energy running through his body, but he had to stop and rest so he didn't use it all up in a day. At least he wasn't bored anymore.

He had hung his shirt and jacket over the sink beneath his mirror; everything was in the same room, but this cell was all his that he didn't need a cellmate to watch him do anything that required privacy. Now that he stood before it, Keevan looked over himself in the long mirror; his musculature remained as it was, but with another month or two if he kept up this routine each day, he might develop a stronger physique. _I'd love to see you try for that,_ Annora had teased him once, making him shake his head and snort as he picked up his shirt to pull it over himself.

Now he sensed trouble with her at the present, and it involved life-or-death situations. Alarm blared inside him. _What is it, dearest?_

 _I - I don't know! Jeffrey is downstairs with a few others by the main generator, and there was an accident...! Uncle Bill and I -!_ She broke off then, crying out in horror, apparently seeing the dead lined up and taken out from the lower depths. _There are four of them, but one of them..._ She cut herself off and started crying, but he knew the true depths despite the broken shell she put on for the sake of it. She might be mourning for a certain one, but her heart wasn't really broken. Nevertheless, Keevan let his arms wrap around her and comfort her, wishing he was there in body and truly holding her in front of everyone around them.

~o~

Standing here, outside the door which led downstairs to the main generator operation room, and beside her uncle was like being a ghost. She shouldn't be here, yet she was. Seeing all four dead, oblivious to the other six who were hurt but would make it eventually, made her want to shrink away until she got to the privacy of her quarters so she could be with Keevan, spiritually. He would release his joy, but while she would share it with him, she would also take the time to spend it grieving.

Jeffrey was among the dead. She looked over the body before a sheet was drawn over it for a final time. Seeing her husband's face so peaceful and would forever remain that way opened another crack. They had just been separated, not on the best of terms lately, and now he was gone. But if she said she'd never forgive herself, she'd be lying.

Another person would call her evil if they ever knew what she thought and how she felt, but she knew too well that she wasn't. No one could control how she thought and felt.

"I'm so sorry, Annora," Uncle Bill said when he stood behind her and reached to pull the sheet covering her dead spouse's face down, exposing his grayish complexion. He looked more asleep than dead. "A terrible accident like this at a time like this; I just can't believe any of this. It's unbelievable that you lost your husband, too. And I loved him as much as I love you, and I have no boys of my own." He shook his head. "The both of you more than the daughter who abandoned me just before this war even began."

Annora sucked in a breath and leaned into his shoulder, not wanting to look at Jeffrey's dead face anymore. Her uncle had been divorced but had a daughter; her cousin lived with her mother now, but no word had been heard from them in a year now. Come to think of it, she and her cousin never got along, unlike she did with Uncle Bill and his ex-wife, her aunt Julianna. Annora and her cousin used to be closer as children, but upon reaching young adulthood, they grew their separate ways.

"I'd like to go back to my quarters, Uncle, if you don't mind," she croaked, tearing away from him and looking up to see him nod his permission. She couldn't look at her husband's corpse being taken away anymore as she hurried down the corridor until she arrived at the very same quarters she used to share with Jeffrey. Her uncle had no idea she would be here, but she had to for her own reasons.

 _Now WHY did I even come here?_

She hadn't been back here since she cleared out and moved in with Benjamin, but now that he was gone, his quarters were hers altogether. She thought she knew _why_ she came to the former home she and her husband shared ever since arrival, now the doubts were present. Why was she here now? Overriding the locks, she stood in the doorway for a few seconds before stepping in, the doors whooshing closed behind her. The place was empty save for his belongings, telling her she was truly alone for the first time in her life. _You're not alone,_ Keevan reminded her gently, _not entirely._

Annora walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed she once shared with Jeffrey, remembering that horrid night she - Keevan stopped her right there. _No, don't think about that. Stop hitting yourself over it and forgive yourself as I forgave you. He's gone now, and you are all_ mine _._

She moaned and fell back onto the bed, the presence of his embrace surrounding her like a glittering shower of gold - a reference to when Zeus visited Danae in her tower and conceived Perseus with her. Early on, she thought this kind of love - or infatuation at the time - would wear off, but it never did. It grew stronger as time passed, showing that it existed behind her previously closed eyelids. She whimpered when the feeling washed downward like a rain shower, caressing and massaging her in her nethermost region, heating her core to molten temperature. Oh, God, this shouldn't seem right at a time like this - _Why not?_ Keevan mocked. _We're finally as one, now that you are free and no one else knows it. I have you all to myself now..._

 _Ohhh, Keevan,_ she moaned both aloud and through the link to him, _you're a bad boy it's not funny! This will be classified as sinful!_

He laughed and continued to torment her with his delicious powers. _Sinful is a derogatory term in my book; passion is embracing yourself as you embrace me. Ambition is named a sin by man in your species, yet everyone has it whether it is above the surface or beneath. Just as you were when I first held you in my arms. Oh, you feel so amazing in my embrace that I never want to let you go; you're mine as long as we live, until time itself ends. Annora, tell me that you knew we were destined to be the moment we landed on that desert planet._

She cried out so loud that it almost broke through the soundproof walls. _It started with...my story. I was going to get my story and help my people as I knew you would do the same for yours, but I had no idea what it would do in order to change me and give me something else. I despised you as much as I despise the rest of the Dominion...but your people - including yourself - are all innocent puppets engineered by the masters._ He was sighing as he absorbed her words and hatred of his former side; he was close to bringing her to the edge now, but as close as it was, he would not let her go just yet and urged her on with her confession now that she was a widow and free to be his.

 _I...I LOVE you, Keevan, because you're beautiful both inside and out, and you helped my people even though they hate you._ She could _feel_ his heart beating faster than hers by only a beat or two, and he was crying, too. _I don't want you in that Federation cell alone and without me; I want you_ here _with ME, in my arms any time of day and night, and in bed every night until waking morning, helping me with my work and I making you the happiest man alive...!_

He was smiling now, proud and devious that he had her in his fist, now loosening his hold. _Then, I'll make you happy by giving you this consolation for your loss. Forget about_ him _and COME away with_ me...

She had been wearing tight black pants once more, and the edge set her erupting and leaking in her underwear. Annora's cheeks were flushing and red with both embarrassment and relief. But she didn't have it in her to move yet, just lay there and try to catch her breath, the pressure of her heart thumping monstrously against her ribcage intense and welcoming at the same time. She stared up at the ceiling, feeling her cheeks wet from fresh tears, but she couldn't help but smile as a content feeling overcame her soul.

~o~

It had been two whole months since the Federation returned to Deep Space 9, and Quark was overjoyed because of how the mad presence affected his business during the occupation. Serving nothing but Cardassian kanar and synthale, yamok sauce and their sickening delicacies for those arrogant reptiles as well as putting up with the scary, stoned Jem'Hadar who crowded about his bar. Poor pregnant Mia had to put up with those lust-crazed creatures always enjoying themselves at the dabo tables; Cardassian men craved sexual intimacy in comparison to Ferengi males keeping the females naked and submissive. Some things in every culture never changed. Men did all the work, women belonged on the lower levels. But Mia Sisko, his favorite girl besides sister-in-law Leeta, was on the high-fighting level. Sometimes Quark put up with her for the sake of it because her father was captain of this station.

All of that beside the point, he was more than in a fantastic mood today because of this latest shipment sure to make a difference in his business. A substantial profit, no less, and no matter Odo's infamous huffs. That insufferable shape-shifter still wanted him behind bars, but every time got him away from it. They were still on the adversarial terms, but ever since the Dominion and their Cardassian bugs left the station, they had started to get along only a _little_ better, and Odo still loved to insult him whenever he could. Well, Quark would give it right back.

"You know what this is?" he called out, getting everyone's attention as his associates brought in the long blue cases containing his latest prize. A result of an opportunity of a negotiation. When no one answered, he proudly unleashed the terrific news. "Three cases of syrup of squill."

Leeta was right behind the bar when she looked at him with wide fawning eyes, Mia right beside her. "Oh, Quark!" his sister-in-law, whom his idiot of a brother married six months ago, exclaimed. "I love that stuff on my groatcakes in the mornings, but I haven't seen a jar in over a _year_."

"No one has," he told her with a crooked smirk.

Odo stepped forward with his arms folded across his chest and narrowed eyes. "Does that mean the drought on Balancar is over?" he asked suspiciously.

"There never _was_ a drought on Balancar," Quark answered deviously. The whole excuse had been nothing but a scheme to raise the prices and keep the delicacy made from their native plant from being shipped out. "It was all a ploy. The stock had been piled away in order to drive the price up."

Mia snorted in disgust. "Dishonest bastards," she said, making him, Leeta and Odo, and everyone else laugh. She was six months pregnant, but then again, she always had a filthy mouth.

"I couldn't agree more." Quark perched himself up on his prized bar and went on with his story. "You see, I once did business with the nephew of the cousin of the stepsister of a friend of the secretary to the chief accountant." Odo's roll of the eyes did not make him cease talk. "And he told me in passing that the accountant had brought himself a nice pair of Ferengi rainslippers."

"And if there was a drought, he wouldn't need rainslippers," Odo pointed out.

Quark grinned and flicked out his hand at the constable. "My thoughts exactly! So, I set up a meeting with this accountant and told him that he either provide me with a shipment of syrup - or I would expose the deception to the _entire_ quadrant!"

The applause was exactly what he needed to hear. He had gotten what he wanted, and today he was on top of the world. He had his share of down luck, but that luck would always turn upwards anytime. And starting tomorrow, a selling of the syrup of squill - to anyone who could afford, of course. This stuff was actually worth its weight in latinum.

He was about to start the story of another economic tale from about twelve years ago before he came to Deep Space 9 when Leeta and Mia both cried, "Dax, Julian!" There came the pair themselves along with Miles O'Brien, the so-called heroes who stole his moment of glory. And thanks to Odo adding to his downward spiral.

"Something wrong, Quark?"

His faux concern was mocking. "Yes, something's wrong," Quark said bitterly, turning away from him. "A bunch of self-satisfied Starfleet officers just stole my audience."

"They're not just Starfleet officers; they're _heroes._ " And next came one of their oldest arguments which was also between Quark and half the station. "And let's face it, Quark: there is nothing heroic about earning _profit_."

"It is on Ferenginar." And on Ferenginar, the Grand Nagus and dear sweet Moogie would be proud of him once they learned of the squill. Zek favored squill more than any other Ferengi he knew of.

"We're _not_ on Ferenginar," Odo insolently reminded him with one last chuckle before leaving him alone to continue brooding over his stolen spotlight.

~o~

Annora sat on the receptacle in the bathroom of her quarters, staring down at the do-it-yourself device given to her by the base's doctor given that the symptoms were now clear: she'd been sick for two straight months, her breasts aching, her lower stomach cramping, and above all, she hadn't bled down there for two months now. She looked down at the screen and almost fainted when her eyes danced with white and black spots at the positive symbol, but she did her best at keeping the door closed between her mind and Keevan's until she found a way to get to him herself. It had also been two months since Sisko and the crew took back their beloved station, but this was still war, so she was really nervous about how she could get to Starfleet Command to see the man she loved about this "news".

~o~

He'd searched high and low for his brother Rom to tell him the gods-awful news from Grand Nagus Zek. When he first learned of the call from the ruler of Ferenginar's financial life, he had assumed it was because Zek learned of the squill and sought to send him a dozen jars of it; it was worse than that and completely unexpected that he had to find his younger brother - and after an exhausting search, Rom was in an access tube rerouting and reconnecting the system. "There you are," Quark grunted as he squeezed himself in. "I've been looking all over the station for you."

"Well, you found me," Rom said, laughing. "Now you go hide, and I'll search for you."

Quark shook his head. As much as he wanted to laugh right now to relieve this stress of a good day - "Well, brace yourself. I have bad news." His brother gave a little nod as he continued to work. Quark took a deep breath to calm himself down first before finally speaking.

"Our mother's been taken prisoner by the Dominion."

Rom turned off his hand-held device then, laying there in shock as he absorbed the news as his older brother warned him. A long moment of silence passed before he shakily spoke. "M-Moogie? A p-p-prisoner?" He turned around and looked at Quark, urging him to go on, but this was hard enough on the newsbearer enough as it was.

"It gets worse: the Nagus wants _me_ to rescue her."

Rom's beady eyes got ever wider. And his mindless yet understanding, childish questions weren't making it easier. "You...rescue Moogie...from the DOMINION?"

"Yep."

"Uh oh," was all his brother could get out, not that Quark blamed him right now anyway.

"'Uh oh' is right." The real question was _what_ they were going to do now, and HOW they were going to do this. Just his day - and perhaps his life.

 **The Greek legend of Perseus and Medusa is one of my favorites of all time. :)**

 **Finally, we're getting into "The Magnificent Ferengi". :D Another episode I could personally go back to anytime I want, and sadly it's also Keevan's last appearance on the show which I said earlier was hilarious but unsatisfactory. :( On a lighter note, anyone should find it obvious what is behind Annora's "sickness". ;)**


	21. The Trouble with Ferengi

**It had begged the question as to WHY the Dominion captured Ishka - Quark and Rom's mother - in the first place, but like others before me, I don't suppose we'll ever know. Unless the answer will present itself when the opportunity comes.**

Chapter Twenty

The Trouble with Ferengi

"So, how do you plan on rescuing Moogie?" Rom asked as they crawled through the passageways from his workplace. Quark snorted as he crawled ahead of his brother while Rom struggled to keep up with him as they searched for a way out of here so they could get to work with planning how to free their mother from the Dominion.

"You mean -" he grunted, wondering if he would collapse from exhaustion in crawling all the way through the tunnels and conduits until they got back to the bar. "- how do WE plan on rescuing Moogie?"

"I don't recall you saying the Nagus wants _me_ to go along," Rom protested, making him roll his eyes.

"Maybe he doesn't, but _I_ do, and besides, Ishka's your mother, too." He and Ishka might not have gotten along while he and his younger brother were growing up, but at least Moogie taught him the Rules of Acquisition when his father wasn't competent, but Rom was always on the more pampered side than Quark was. But that was family.

"And I love her, but I can't go with you," Rom protested. "I'm a married man, and I have responsibilities. And my responsibilities don't want me to die!"

Quark held his breath as that word for the long missed opportunity came from his brother's mouth. There had been Pell in his life before she left after the truth she was a female came out, then Natima, his old Cardassian flame. He hadn't been so lucky in the romance and eventually marriage department, so he had no responsibilities to look out for other than his bar. No wife, no kids, just his establishment and what little prospects he owned. "I don't wanna die either," he said to Rom, "so let's just concentrate on the reward the Nagus is offering."

Rom was piqued with childlike interest. "Reward?"

"Fifty bars of gold-pressed latinum." And a hell of a reward it was, Mia's words of choice he unluckily got from her, but he would not have it all for himself if he needed his own brother's help. "Which I'm willing to share with _you_ ," he said when he paused in his movements and turned his head around to grin. Rom's eyes were wider than ever.

"An even split?"

"Absolutely! Thirty bars for me, twenty for you."

Rom's jaw dropped. "Brother, that's not even."

Well, no reward split was free without extra charge, and it was _Quark_ that Nagus Zek charged to retrieve Ishka from the enemy. "It is when you include my finder's fee."

They continued their journey until they came to an end which opened into a space and a few more opened directions to continue - and a gated area into another room. "There's one thing I still don't understand," Rom panted when they came to a stop and rest. "How did the Dominion get a hold of Moogie?"

Quark sighed and wiped his forehead of the perspiration. "They captured the transport ship she was on." Ishka was a secret Ferengi women's rights activist - and sleeping with the Grand Nagus, so she got anything she wanted from him only to make him happy in return. Sometimes it made him sick, but there was nothing he could do about it. He'd had it ended - but because of the scheming Brunt to get his bar back - and got it back on track again, not once interfering with their affairs since then. The affair between his mother and Zek had been going on for a year now. "I know she's a female and forbidden to travel off Ferenginar," he continued when Rom questioned, "but Moogie is an exception. The Nagus gave her special dispensation to travel to Vulcan for her operation and have her ears raised."

Rom's jaw dropped yet again. "I had no idea the Nagus could be so generous," he said.

"He certainly is," Quark answered. But it still didn't answer the question WHY Moogie was taken of all people, and why the Dominion attacked a Ferengi cruiser of all places; Zek had no answer to that himself, only that Moogie was the only citizen missing when the results came back to him. She'd been missing for a week now.

"But why is he being so good to Moogie?"

Quark sighed again. "Brother, there's something I need to tell you. It's about the Nagus and Moogie." His brother wasn't going to like this, just like he didn't in the beginning. "They're lovers."

As expected, his brother's entire face fell. To even think their mother would be with the most powerful Ferengi male in current existence - "No," he moaned, shaking his head in despair.

"It's been going on for over a year."

" _No!_ "

"She's a secret financial advisor and helps him run the entire Ferengi Alliance."

"NO!"

Quark rolled his eyes. "Would you stop saying that?" he asked irritably, then stood up for they needed to continue on. He moved the gate out of the way and found a door to push forward, but when they both poked their heads out, they looked up to see the occupant himself.

Captain Sisko stared at them both from behind his desk, his prized baseball in hand. "May I help you, gentlemen?"

Quark turned his head back to glare at his idiot of a brother, but Rom insisted his innocence that he was following _him_. "Must have taken a wrong turn," he said to the captain, whose face remained agape that the bartender and his engineer brother had unexpectedly - and suspiciously - popped into his office at an odd time.

"It looks that way," was all Sisko said before Quark shoved his brother back and pulled the door closed behind them. Some time passed before they found another entrance, this time leading out into the hallway on the same level as the captain's office. Quark groaned as he stretched his back and popped both bones and muscles from crawling for too long, hearing his brother do the same.

"You know, brother, I've been thinking. We can't rescue Moogie from a Dominion internment center alone in any way. Just the two of us? I don't see us making it out alive."

He paused and considered. Rom was right, with what little brains he had in that head of his. Just the two of them going in with no backup and at risk of being shot down or likely arrested, charged with breaking and entering? Not on his watch. They needed help. "What if we put together a commando team with the toughest mercenaries we can find? Nausicaans, Breen, Klingon -"

Quark silenced him right away. Surly Nausicaan pirates? Ill-tempered creatures, they were. Breen? Easy to turn against you when you didn't expect it. And Klingon - he'd dealt his share with them in the past, even married one for convenience. So, none of the above, and neither humans. "None of that, Rom. We'll just use...Ferengi."

Rom flipped out right then and there, nervous overtaking his limited reason. "Then we'll all die!" he cried loud enough to raise the roofs of this station that Quark had to hush him down.

"No, we won't!" he chided. "Ferengi can be just as tough as Klingons. They just need the opportunity, the training...and a couple of bars of latinum incentive."

His brother stuck his lower lip out in a pout and put his hands on his hips as though he were still a little Ferengi again. "Coming out of _my_ share, I suppose!" he complained.

"No! We'll split the reward with whoever joins us. All...twenty bars of it." This might be his mother in the situation, and there would be more to help him and his brother, he was still the typical Ferengi who needed his large share - and thirty bars leftover he would split between himself and Rom, who looked uncertain at the idea of cheating whoever they would recruit. But as far as anyone else was concerned, they would share twenty with the other Ferengi.

So it was agreed then. And now it begged the question of their first recruit.

~o~

Meditation was another method of calming down the senses and the inner spirit, but Keevan was no spiritualist. He was a clone, and cloning was a method of science, nothing superstitious. He never believed in those beliefs ever since he came to his senses that the Founders were not gods and never would be. Since Annora introduced him to an old Terran horror tale about a mad scientist putting together a monster made from separate body parts and not once thinking about the consequences when it escaped and set about eliminating those in the man's life - finally killing his creator's bride and leaving the man alone to hunt him down until his own life was claimed by the cold wilderness.

Eye for an eye, so the mad doctor could experience the loneliness and rejection his Monster knew. A part of Keevan felt the scientist should have loved his creation despite its ugliness. "The overall point," Annora had said, "is to not try to be a god to something you were never meant to make yourself." His point had been that the Founders excelled with the cloning methods and the breeding of Jem'Hadar, but anyone else could also do those things, even if they were illegal.

But the Founders were breathing beings if not the same as solids. His point exactly, and they were inconsequential, getting away with their wicked ways. Well, he strongly felt the Federation would win in the end. He just hoped so. The Federation might not execute him in the end unlike the Dominion would to any of their traitorous minions.

He had been sitting cross-legged on the floor before his bed when the cell door opened, and in came the same guard who had saved him from the other one he'd never see again. The young man was friendlier to him than any of the others were, but Keevan never learned his name, regretful as it was. "Well, what a pleasant surprise," he said with a smile, "but it's a pity and a regret I never asked your name, dear man."

The man laughed and knelt down in front of him, the door closing behind him. "That's alright; you can call me just Brandon. I'm not formal." His smile then dissolved into a frown. "I heard about you before, Keevan, and they said you were a monster, trading the lives of your unit for your own to be saved."

Keevan scoffed; no one had brought it up to him in two months, but it hadn't aged in the slightest. "The Jem'Hadar are savage monsters without their white, and what could I have done since they were low? There's nothing to be done when you're in the situation I was in, the same with Captain Sisko and his own men. Have you yourself ever been in a do-or-die moment? I'm a Vorta, and we are subjected to various of them, but the Founders would not hesitate to execute us or simply leave us to die no matter what little mistakes we make. We have no choice, but no one will ever understand that." _Except one_. "But I take it that's not all why you are here, correct?" he asked Brandon with his knowing smile returning. The other man came to himself after being absorbed in his words; he was obviously struggling with agreeing with him as well as following through with the warning from his superiors about the Vorta's manipulative methods. He almost chuckled before it fell when the man answered him.

"Yeah, you're having a visitor in two days. A reporter who wants to interview you, but I don't know why she wants to. I was only instructed to notify you about this...visitor ahead of time." He thoughtfully and briefly nibbled on his bottom lip. "I never thought you'd ever have any visitors because you're all by yourself in here. Man, I feel sorry for you, to be honest."

Keevan lowered his eyes to the floor in front of him. He didn't need Brandon's sympathy, but he was also right. It was lonely in here that it was killing him - and he had the slightest idea WHO his reporting visitor might be. She was finally coming to see him - but why didn't she let him know herself? He sensed there was a reason behind it, but she wouldn't let him see that either. She was blocking him for some reason, and he had a good reason to worry.

~o~

It hadn't been easy to round up new recruits for the day and the next, starting with Nog. His nephew was a Starfleet officer who couldn't just take off from his duties, much to his irritation, but the team needed a drill instructor to prepare them for possible combat, just like Commander Worf was, which Nog wasn't able to resist.

Next was hiring Leck from Ferenginar, who wasn't like the rest of them. He didn't care about latinum, preferred working alone, but enjoyed testing himself in a challenge, so who could resist going against the Dominion? He was the fourth now; Quark would still give him his share of the latinum even if Leck didn't want it, and he was a skilled killer who might have the shot of helping rescue Moogie.

He hadn't seen cousin Gaila in a year; the last he heard from the wealthy weapons merchant was that he'd been arrested for vagrancy on Thalos VI. He blamed Quark for the mess with him and Hagath, but that was the past, though Gaila wouldn't let that slide and wanted to kill him ever since then. Still, he wasn't able to resist a good offer of earning latinum, all thoughts of revenge aside. That marked all five team members with an equal share of twenty bars of latinum...until one unwanted addition with his own agenda.

Ex-Liquidator Brunt, who had made Quark's life a living hell starting with Moogie earning her own profits and wearing clothes, all the things against Ferengi society, and then taking Quark's bar and profits away all because of a misdiagnosis of terminal illness and selling his remains on the FFE and Quark unable to have himself killed. Then Brunt gave him the opportunity to get his life back by asking Quark to help him usurp Zek and Ishka; eventually, the "good" Ferengi got his just desserts when Zek fired him from the FCA. Brunt just had to come back and "sign up" to help get Moogie back, hoping the Nagus would reinstate him. Quark and the others spat it off; no one wanted Brunt, but then again, they needed a ship which Brunt happened to possess, so now the team was six. And that meant smaller shares of the reward.

Now they were on the second day together, which was them being in the holosuite and using Jadzia Dax's program which currently had three Jem'Hadar and a handcuffed Ishka between them, firing at all five Ferengi men before they could all blink. Quark ended up getting shot to the shin, Gaila screaming and dropping his weapon before taking off, and Rom running into the nearest wall while firing back. What became of Brunt made him want to laugh if his mild injury didn't hurt so much; the former Liquidator surrendered too easily and took a blow to the abdomen and fell onto his backside. None of them would stand a chance against real Jem'Hadar if they kept this up.

Finally, Leck had to shoot Moogie dead, much to the disapproval of all of them except Brunt. Nog came out from his hiding and observing position and ordered the program frozen and the holograms themselves reset so he could berate the group. Quark sat down on the nearest rock from them and only listened to his nephew and the rest of the team.

"This is the eighth run-through, and you haven't been able to hit a single Jem'Hadar," he said before turning to Leck. "And _you_ shot _Moogie!_ "

"I saw we weren't going to rescue her, so I put her out of her misery," the hitman answered casually and matter-of-factly, disgusting Gaila who asked Rom who invited him along. A part of Quark had to agree; if they couldn't save Ishka then, he'll might as well kill her himself and a suitable lie to the Nagus had to be made up, but it also meant no reward to give.

"Maybe we should start off with something easier?" Brunt suggested. "Like ambushing a couple of Bolians?" Quark scoffed; starting off with something easy wasn't going to help them get anywhere near that internment center where Moogie was, and Nog agreed.

"You couldn't ambush a Bolian if you were blindfolded and tied to a tree!" Nog snapped, and now Quark had enough of this nonsense.

"That's enough!" he shouted, getting everyone's attention on him at once. "Get out of here, all of you." Stupid idiots all stayed and looked at each other, as if they didn't understand he wanted to be left alone. "You heard me, go."

They finally complied and left, but Rom stayed behind with his phaser rifle lowered to his side. "But, brother, don't you want to keep practicing?"

He grunted and stood up, rubbing his shin for a bit before standing and calling to the computer to end the program. Ignoring Rom altogether, he exited the holosuite and withdrew the data crystal as soon as he got back to the bar. All of this was pointless; what had Zek been thinking in asking HIM to do this? Ferengi weren't made for combat, unlike others such as the Klingons - forget his few training moments and life-or-death situations on two occasions - and Breen. Zek just thought of Quark because he was the only man he could trust with his own mother whom the Nagus was sleeping AND working with.

"Forget it, Rom," he said as soon as his brother came back to the bar, knowing he would try and protest again. "We're wasting our time here. We couldn't even get anywhere near Moogie, let alone _rescue_ her." Scoffing was one of his favorite habits out of the sake of it, so he did it again when he found himself looking at one of the jars of the ruby-hued squill - his prize from a few short days ago. "You can now say we're not heroes after all, brother. And to think, just a few short days ago, I was sitting on top of the world. The king of squill." He picked that bottle up and held it up between Rom and himself. "You should have been there; it was a very delicate negotiation and could have gone either way. But I took my time, picked my moment...and then went in for the kill," he finished with a sinister grin as he recalled that moment of triumph. "It was beautiful to behold."

He sighed blissfully as he relished that day for a few moments before Rom's eyes lit up with realization. Quark knew that any time and waited for his brother. "Wait, I think we've been going about this the wrong way! We're not commandos; we're negotiators. We are good at _making deals_."

Quark felt like his ears were on fire with the joy of the new change of plan, even better than just storming in and armed with phasers, shooting down Jem'Hadar until they saved Moogie. Ferengi handled the trading business, not that. This was where Rom was going: the Dominion had something they wanted, so there had to be something the Dominion wanted in exchange - and then they TRADE! That way everyone went home alive and happy.

But it begged the question: what did _they_ have to trade for Ishka?

It suddenly put to mind a certain Vorta that he remembered Captain Sisko talking about during one of his missions before the crew returned to reclaim Deep Space 9.

~o~

She had put in the excuse of an "interview with the Vorta prisoner of war", but the reasons were deeper than that, and she was more than nervous because she'd blocked Keevan from seeing her secret. The fact she didn't know whose IT was made it even more terrifying, and that was why she intended on leaving Starbase 375 for good, no matter her uncle's permission or not. Sooner or later, her condition would have gotten out, and everyone would see the features what now rested in her body would carry even if it wasn't from Jeffrey. She wouldn't be stupid to expect otherwise.

That was why she needed to see Keevan now. She needed to get him away from here, but not today. Sooner rather than later. They could go anywhere they wanted, no matter a war going on. Perhaps Deep Space 9, but she would have to explain everything to Benjamin then. For all she knew, he would return her to her uncle, and who knew what severe punishment would await Keevan. It was a risk worth taking; perhaps they could get to the Gamma Quadrant and go to his homeworld Kurill Prime after all.

She'd done some research into the mysterious planet in the enemy's territory; it was a lush blend of tropical and Asian zen you would find on Earth, and filled with vast seas bluer than any turquoise stone in existence. She found she could live there after all, live in peace with Keevan and in the countryside like they talked about. Nothing else would matter; she could live with her stories becoming like fairytales passed down from generation to generation if not always news reports. She didn't care anymore, unlike she told him in the cave. All she wanted was to be with him.

Her novel had been sold out a month ago, but unlike the mostly positive reviews she would receive in return, it was mixed. Some of the critics called it "demented and depraved, insanity", and it was more than she bore. She never took negative criticism well, so this was the first time for her. She tried assuring herself that the critics might not like it, but the fans did - and an immense fanbase that was she received in return. Yet with the war, she felt like a part of her was over. Like she no longer belonged here.

She felt like she had another calling far from here. And it had been eating her away for two months now.

"I'll be outside if you need me, Mrs. O'Neal," the guard, Brandon, assured her with a smile and closed the doors after her. She winced slightly; her left hand no longer had her wedding ring, but it felt good for the first time. The first time she took it off after her husband died, it had been strange and a small voice at the back of her head whispered it was a mistake, but it was nothing more than a ring and a memory of her old life. The only thing she kept was the amber heart around her neck, because of the symbolism and when Keevan's hand first wrapped around it and placed it against her heart when he vocally gave his to her. The amber burned between both their hands together, imprinted forever in her memory when it never did when Jeffrey first gave it to her.

"Thank you, Brandon," she told the guard before the doors closed, and she was alone in the cell the man she hadn't seen for two months had been given, unlike most Federation cells she'd seen. She felt her heart drop when she saw him sitting on the bed against the wall, wearing the same clothes he'd worn before, still in good shape, and still alive and unharmed. Seeing him made her drop her bag to the floor and run over to him just as he stood up and outstretched his arms for her.

He wrapped his arms around her and spun her around in a small circle, like in those wonderful love stories when the couple reunited this way and shared a long, passionate kiss which transpired next. Annora moaned and sobbed at the same time; the hormones of her condition as well as the unbridled joy at being reunited with her one true love - yes, she could use the term now and share it with him - and forgot, only for the moment, why she was here. "Keevan," she breathed, breaking the kiss and looking into his wide amethyst eyes. "I missed you so much." She lifted a hand and trailed it over his cheek and stopping behind his neck, massaging the sensitive point which was the top of his spinal nerve. He sighed and closed his eyes.

"Annora, you could have told me yourself you were coming." She stopped massaging one of his most sensitive parts, and he reopened his eyes then. "You had me worried, why you never told me WHY you were coming to finally see me. I know it isn't an interview." His eyes hardened slightly, peering through hers and trying to read her. She quickly blurted it out before he found out himself.

"I'm pregnant."

Annora stepped back and watched his face very carefully and stretched out her senses to read his emotions. Everything from his facial reaction to his body language matched outwardly: rigid and devoid of emotion. But internally, he was cold with shock, surprise and fear as much as she was. But then he spoke after a long tense silence.

"Annora - that's...wonderful." That was all he could say. He wasn't really sure how to take all of this in. Men were hard to understand when it came to telling them you were pregnant. "But...whose is it?" His expression returned to stone cold, demanding.

She looked down to the ground again. "I...don't know," she whispered. "I don't know if it's Jeffrey's...or yours." Her eyes met his again, his now softened but still calculating and lost. "I'm afraid, Keevan. I don't want anyone else knowing this. That's why I want to leave and take you with me."

He looked happy and doubtful at the same time, but he couldn't respond. "When I finally sold my book, the response wasn't what I always received, but I do not understand why. I do know this for sure: I don't belong here anymore, because the man I love the most will never be accepted the way he deserves to be, and there are so many people out there dying every day - both yours and mine alike - but there's nothing we can do but wish we could do something when we know we CAN'T! And now that I'm widowed, I was enjoying my freedom you promised me..." She reached over and took his hand to place it on her slowly growing abdomen. "...but now look at what came from this."

Despite the fear, to know that she was carrying and _feeling_ life growing inside her, no matter who the father was - it was an alien but wonderful feeling that made her cry inside. She and Jeffrey had talked about children before but hadn't been so successful. But did Keevan ever think about being a father? She let him read that thought and saw him shake his head. "I never thought I would find myself in that position. Weyoun is going to be a new father himself, yet I doubt he would ever be there in time for his seed to be born." He shook his head, and she followed the gesture. She couldn't even see that man as a father, but she didn't let Keevan see that one. Leaning into him, she wrapped her arms around his waist to listen to his steady heartbeat.

They had been apart for so long; two months was long enough to go, no matter what anyone else would say. She didn't know if the child she now carried was her late husband's or this one whose arms held her safely. Keevan's face buried itself into her hair and inhaled her scent while breathing as steadily as he could. _I'm afraid of this as you are,_ he sent. _I don't know if the baby is mine or...his, but I do not want to leave you both alone as my oldest friend is struggling to do with his own. I want to love you both just as much, but -_ His message was cut off when the cell buzzed, jerking Annora out of his arms and pulling herself together. "Who is it?" she called out.

The door opened, and not only was Brandon there but also a few more yellow uniformed Starfleet soldiers. One of them spoke gruffly to her. "Miss, your time is up. The Vorta is coming with us."

~o~

He was led out of his cell by the forearm and slapped with cuffs in front of himself. He didn't need to ask; he was being taken away from Annora. All of their hopes and dreams of a future which were now impossible at wartime were crushed. What was going to happen to him now? He looked over his shoulder when Annora called to the group.

"If you don't mind me asking, where are you taking him?"

"He's been requested to be taken to Deep Space 9. Captain Sisko talked to the admiral about him. He's being traded for some captured Ferengi female by the Dominion."

Now the world around him had truly come to an end. He nearly passed out when he ceased his steps; one of the men forced him forward and almost pushed him onto the ground before them. Annora was still following them that he sensed; she wasn't going to let them go. She was determined to risk everything now by following them to Deep Space 9. He was grateful that she would do such a thing for him, but she would be in trouble with Captain Sisko. The man and his crew had survived the assault and retaking of their station; he had heard that the Dominion had retreated into Cardassian space following. Cardassia Prime must be where they were now; it wasn't truly Dominion space, but that did not lessen the foreboding doom ahead for him.

He was being returned to them when he vowed _not_ to.

Once he was back in their clutches, they would kill him and activate a new incarnation. Annora would not survive the pain of it any more than he would; that was not going to be good for her, not while she was pregnant with possibly their child. He wouldn't let her read his mind on this one, but he wasn't sure if he could take it being that the child was Jeffrey O'Neal's. Annora would be crushed if she knew that, but he didn't know anything about this. He was terribly afraid of breaking her heart. He wished Weyoun was here to help him out.

He did not breathe a word to any of his "escorts" the entire time he came aboard the small vessel; he kept his head turned when he sensed Annora slip in behind them as soon as the doors closed. He smiled softly to himself at her method of slipping aboard like a stowaway; she was coming to Deep Space 9 with him. _How are you going to follow me and the Ferengi, whoever he is?_

 _I don't know,_ she responded, _but I intend to convince him to bring me along so I'll make sure nothing happens to you._

He channeled a kiss to her. _You're taking an awfully large risk here._

 _You've said that before._

He wasn't sure how much time passed when they finallly arrived at their destination, his hands still in cuffs and himself trying to remain aloof as possible. He paid no attention to anyone around him as he was ordered to his feet and pointed at with phaser rifles; he was being led directly to the airlock hallway, after they arrived at number five. He was told that his Ferengi captor would be bringing him to number nine.

Annora remained behind them as far as possible; she had disguised herself by covering her head up with a shawl she'd brought with her. _It was an old birthday present from my mother, but I never once used it. Glad it came in handy,_ she told him with a smirk as she walked past him and his guards with her eyes lowered to the ground and made way for Airlock Nine ahead of them. None of the officers called her or even saw her.

Keevan looked up from ahead when the most obnoxious of voices called. "Excuse me, but I believe that must be my prisoner brought on behalf of Starfleet!"

"He's all yours, Ferengi. Starfleet has everything they need from him anyway. He's no good with us any longer, but don't think once about turning your back on him," one of the men said, and the rest of them turned around to leave him with his new warden. He looked the Ferengi directly in the eyes and saw the obvious dislike right away. He loathed all of them; they were despicable and greedy, sometimes short-tempered.

"Name's Quark," he said as soon as they were alone - save for the other one waiting at their assigned airlock. "Nice to meet you, Keevan." He scoffed and looked away from him, making the Ferengi chuckle. "That's right, you don't care. Well, to be honest, I don't know if I should care about you, too. My mother is being held by your Founders, and all I want is to get her back." Now he could allow a small smile to form on his face. He could just see all of this working out; these Ferengi could just deliver him straight to his fate and he would not care about any of them other than anxiously awaiting the permanent separation of him and Annora - and their baby, too.

"Well, come on; we don't want to keep the others and Empok Nor waiting." Empok Nor was an abandoned Cardassian space station, a sister of Terok Nor. Ironic that a place like that had to be the location of the trade of him with Quark's captured mother. They started walking down the corridor and turned only to spot a cowled figure at their designated airlock, pulling her shawl down to get Quark's attention. "And who might you be?"

"I'm going with you, Quark," Annora answered proudly, shaking her hair free from the patterned fabric wrapped around her neck. "I know everything about what you and your little team are up to, but I won't let anything happen to this...helpless little Vorta here," she added when she turned her attention to Keevan, who rolled his eyes at being called helpless.

Quark took a small step forward. "Just who do you think you are to barge in on my personal business and involve yourself in something that's none of your concern, female?"

She bore her burning eyes into his. "Annora O'Neal, Starfleet journalist. But I'm not here on business, Quark. Just on a personal level I'm not afraid to speak of. This man is my life, end of story. We met when Captain Sisko brought him in, and the rest is history. I don't intend to interfere with you getting your mother back, but maybe I can try to help so everyone gets back alive. Should that be enough?"

She had no idea HOW all of them would escape the Dominion, but now that she thought of it, it didn't seem like a bad idea. Maybe they both could flee when none of them were expecting it. They could safely get to Kurill Prime somehow, or anywhere else far from Federation and Dominion eye. There were very few options at the present.

Quark regarded her critically, suspiciously, before his ears twitched and he drew himself back. "I don't know if I should trust your word or not, but I don't have time to stand here and argue with you. My Moogie needs us and she won't last any longer this is delayed." He turned back to Keevan and gestured him towards the airlock. "Prisoner first."

This ship could hardly count as one because of how small it was. Keevan regarded it with absolute distaste but did not show it to anyone other than Annora. He had to duck his way in, her behind him and Quark, until all three of them were in the main bridge. "Everyone," Quark called out to the other five. Keevan studied them all and eventually recognized the boy as Nog, whom he recalled was a member of Captain Sisko's unit. He did not care about any of the others, but was the cadet related to Quark somehow? Why else would he be here?

 _He's Quark's nephew,_ Annora answered. _He told me so himself. His father is Rom, Quark's brother on the right, but I don't know the others._ They both looked at Quark when he introduced the prisoner handed over to them. "This is Keevan. We're gonna trade him for Ishka."

Keevan no longer looked at any of them, adverted his eyes to his left out of boredom when the Ferengi on the right smiled brightly and waved at him. "Hi." He was apparently the more innocent of the group. "I'm Rom. This is Nog, that's Brunt -" Oh, please, did he honestly think that he'd give a damn about them? Quark took note of this and silenced his brother.

"Rom. He doesn't care."

He returned his gaze to the Ferengi and at last allowed a small smile of gratitude to show. "Truer words have never been spoken." Looking over him and the other five in the cockpit, he couldn't help but keep his smile in check. The six of them - now eight, including Annora and himself - against an incoming legion of Jem'Hadar and whoever the Vorta would be to retrieve him? Unlikely. They would all be dead before they could make it back to this tiny closet of a ship. "I would advise you all to send final messages to your loved ones and make sure your wills are in order."

All of them were stricken with dumbstruck expressions, the three behind father and son already knowing, the boy himself watching him predatorily, and his father was the first to speak. "Why?"

Keevan almost laughed at his foolishness. He apparently never grew out of his childlike innocence. "Because the moment we leave this station," he answered smoothly, "you'll have signed your death warrants."

 **The story of Frankenstein is just one of my favorite tales of horror ever told; the movie "Re-Animator" which stars our very own Jeffrey Combs (Weyoun) as the mad doctor himself, is a kind of parody. :)**

 **Uh oh, trouble for the Ferengi group. :O But now that Annora is part of their little adventure, let's see what part she plays.**


	22. Empok Nor

**The weekend kept me busy, with getting new Halloween decorations with the family as well as the rainstorm that had to pass before we could put them up, but here's the latest. :) Enjoy.**

Chapter Twenty-One

Empok Nor

The Ferengi looked stone-shocked at the possibility of death for them on this little exchange they got themselves into. She looked between them and Keevan when he casually changed the subject, disinterested and wanting to be away from them so he could enjoy his solitude until they got to Empok Nor. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to take a nap." He looked down at Quark, asking him for that permission with his eyes. The Ferengi nodded and gestured to Keevan's left, where a small passageway waited for him to duck through and find a small bunk set. Annora wanted to use one herself, but it didn't look large enough for the two of them.

"Who's the female, Quark?" one of the other Ferengi asked, making him frown. He looked like he had a lazy eye, and his voice cranky and sore, disgusted all the time. She had been offended being called a simple female by Quark when she brought herself along; Ferengi were so sexist. She glared at that outspoken one in the back center when Quark stepped in.

"Cousin Gaila," he scolded, "this is -" He was interrupted by his nephew, who looked extremely happy to see her, but also confused as to why she was here with the Vorta who had held him and Garak hostage on the desert planet.

"Everybody, this is Annora O'Neal. The best Federation reporter in existence, besides my best friend Jake Sisko, of course."

Annora cracked a grin and bowed her head once. "Hello to you, too, Nog."

His father's eyes darted back and forth between her and his son. "Uh, how do you and my son know each other?" he asked before his older brother snapped.

"Brunt, can you get us out of here in time before those Dominion forces get to Empok Nor before _we_ do?" She looked at the Ferengi to the rear right - her right - and noticed how he was a little more dressed than Quark was, and the bar of latinum hanging around his neck. "And Annora, you may join Keevan until we get to the station." She glared down at him, hating to be ordered around; nevertheless, she snorted at him and followed Keevan, ducking the arch and dropping her bag to the floor as soon as she saw him laying on his side facing her.

"I hate Ferengi," he told her with barely a smile showing, watching her sit down in the small chair so low she nearly fell to the floor. But then again, this barely-a-ship wasn't made for taller beings like the two of them. "I heard them call you a female. Like they were debasing you."

"Just two of them," she answered, crossing one leg over the other and leaning backwards as far as she could to relax. "I agree that they're not bright, but I can't hate them. Hate one or two, but not the entire race. Someone else taught me that." She fixed her eyes on his and smiled.

He smirked and lifted both his cuffed hands from in front of him and rested them underneath his head as a pillow. "Once more, truer words have never been spoken, beloved." His smirk then faded. "But they're still turning me over to those monsters, where I will face death and reincarnation. But I don't know what will happen to you if they find out about you."

If the Dominion saw her, they would take her with him; they might not be interested in her at first, but she would gladly give herself up to them in case. The baby might grow up in a cruel environment, or perhaps forced into a miscarriage - _No, I won't let that happen to you both,_ Keevan promised her, his wet amethyst orbs holding her in place despite telling the Ferengi he'd be napping during the journey. It'd be a few days until they reached Empok Nor, so she had plenty of time with Keevan until then. But he looked tired and just wanted to go to sleep to relieve himself.

However, as he tried to close his eyes, his mind was still full of so much turmoil as she was. And she knew why. "They'll take you away from me once they give Ishka back," she whispered, feeling her gut wrench, and her baby was barely large enough to understand her inner pain.

"Please," he whispered, his lids squeezing and showing the wrinkles. "I do not want to think about that. I wish there was a way to explain this to our unlikely 'companions' outside these walls, but all they care about is their own skins and the female they want back. But they do not realize they're walking into a death trap," he added with a devious twitch in the mouth. "All of us won't be able to get out of there alive. I know the Dominion well enough to know that. They leave no loose ends."

Annora tried to distract them both by trying to stand only to fall back into her chair when the ship vibrated and hummed to life, lifted itself up and started to bring them to their course. _This is it._ She remained where she was as she tried to think of a way to get herself and Keevan away before the Dominion arrived to claim their prize.

~o~

He was cold, though not physically from air conditioning, but with fear. They were en route to an abandoned Cardassian station that, according to Annora, had been left to rot for almost three years, and the perfect example of a Terran haunted house from older days. Booby traps for non-Cardassians had been left ever since then, but for what reasons? "Like they did in the stories on Earth: so that anyone who ventured into their sacred place would die," Annora said jokingly, before getting serious.

"Nog was telling me about it once during the three months before the crew returned to Deep Space 9. He, Garak and a few others were there before on a mission for some new equipment when they were short; it's as he said, the same as the station which used to be Terok Nor. When the Cardassians still lived there, they conducted experiments with psychotropic drugs gone awry, originally intending to advance the fear of anyone not belonging to a particular race, specifically Cardassians. The Cardassians were naturals with it and wanted to expand it within themselves, but because nothing proceeded as planned that they decided to abandon the project altogether. Less than a year ago when Nog and the others paid it that visit, they found three test subjects who used to be in the First Order Third Battalion in stasis, before they were accidentally let loose, killing the entire team before Nog, Garak and Chief Miles O'Brien remained." She paused to lean backwards in her low stool. "Garak had been exposed to the toxin, so he threatened to kill Nog while he faced off with O'Brien, but eventually he was subdued and they all made it alive. As you saw, Nog and Mr. Garak are a bit on the tense side."

How could he forget the way the young Ferengi reprimanded the Cardassian tailor for giving away their doctor to save the Vorta's life? Keevan thought this with a little smirk as a response. It was always fun to watch two different species banter back and forth, and anything amused the Vorta. Add in that Annora tolerated them even if they irritated her half the time.

And how ironic that they'd be exchanging at a deceased space station where lethal experiments once took place.

 _Our time together is short. Empok Nor is our last stop together, against everything we planned together. I wanted to get you away from here, so we can somehow flee this place, go anywhere we want and hide from the Dominion. The Federation won't kill us, but they'll separate us definitely. We need someplace isolated but close enough to paradise as it could get._

He closed his eyes and nodded silently. She was right; they were in the middle of a war, and space was vast so there had to be options, but to get away from Empok Nor as a start would be difficult; based on experience, it would be a day or two, maybe less, before a Dominion vessel came along. There could not be any spare ships around the station that hadn't been used, and no means of establishing communications which could reignite the Ferengi's attention as well as unwanted outside help, which meant THIS ship was the only option...

"Excuse me, but we've arrived at our destination." The rude, snuffy Ferengi who was Quark's cousin stuck his head in briefly before sniffing and drawing back out. Keevan regarded the now-empty doorway with distaste before sliding out from the small bunk and stretching his muscles - only to bump into Annora and fall back onto the stool, with her beneath him.

"Keevan...!" Her voice failed her as did her attempts to push him off; she didn't want to, but any of those Ferengi, even that insufferable cousin, could come in and see them, but Keevan didn't care. His lover's body beneath him was the contact he needed before they were separated aboard Empok Nor. Why and how would the Ferengi ever see them this way and understand? For all he knew, true love did not exist between those profit-hungry beings.

He forced himself up, aided with Annora's help, and they joined the rest as they docked at an airlock which Nog announced was on the same floor as the Promenade.

"You stay close to me," Quark told him as he put him ahead, "and the lady stays beside me because I don't trust you in the slightest." Annora glared at him but said nothing, just pulled out her phaser and aimed it, remaining on guard and ready to shoot. Keevan thought it one of the most attractive things he'd seen about her.

The moment his eyes landed on the viewing of the station, there was Empok Nor dead as it was, tilting sideways instead of horizontal amidst a smoking matter against space; that was the best way to describe it. Nog was the first to go in, given that he was the one who had more experience with phaserfire and operations. The rest of the Ferengi men were no good with combat, and the one named cousin Gaila was a weapons merchant, nowhere near combat material. And here was Keevan as a prisoner of these obnoxious beings who handled things by dealings.

"All clear!" Nog called out after some time. "Tricorder indicates no other lifeforms on this station."

One by one, the rest of the Ferengi - he had learned eventually that the one with the bar of latinum around his neck was Brunt, a former Ferengi Liquidator, and the meaner looking one was a hitman called Leck - began to come in, starting with Brunt and Leck, then Gaila and Rom, ending with Quark and gesturing for Keevan and Annora to come in last. She stayed beside him and kept her pistol aimed no matter zero life signs except their little group. _I never let my guard down,_ she sent with a little wink, but he kept his face schooled into its infamous aloof mask. The Ferengi should not be allowed to see his emotions. Once everyone was in, Nog called everyone to follow him and head for "base camp".

Gaila blinked. "Base camp?" he repeated with utter stupidity, as if he didn't know what his cousin's nephew meant.

"He means the infirmary," Quark clarified before pointing ahead of them all. "It's right over there."

"All right, let's move it on the double." Nog started forward but stopped when the others didn't move. He frowned and lowered his gun to his side. "Well, what are you waiting for?" he asked impatiently.

"Two slips of latinum for the first man who makes it to the infirmary."

Now the Ferengi, except Leck who walked slower than the rest of them and obviously not caring that latinum was offered, burst forward and excited to head for base camp. "You don't pay your soldiers to do the duty," Nog told his uncle disgustedly, shaking his head.

"You do if they're _Ferengi,_ " Quark said matter-of-factly as he motioned Keevan forward, then looked at Annora whose weapon was still out. "Uh, I believe you can put that away for now until the Dominion gets here, THEN you can grab it out before they do."

Her head whipped around at him as she had been ahead of them. "First of all, Ferengi, I don't do what anyone tells me to do, and I never go unarmed and unprepared. Don't think I'm weak and uncapable just because I'm _female,_ " she sneered, making him grin and bring both his hands in the air placatingly.

"Hey, excuse me, Miss Reporter. I was only stating the facts."

If he wasn't in handcuffs, he would strangle the Ferengi himself, or better yet, he could strangle the Ferengi WITH his cuffs, but he wouldn't let Annora see the thought since he knew what she'd say. They found themselves thrust into the room which was the infirmary, which Leck complained as another closet even when the lights came on, and Nog began to point out every direction and reason for choosing this particular dust of a room. Keevan regarded it all distastefully, or so he appeared outwardly to the rest of them.

"We've chosen this spot for a reason. For one thing, it is a confined area with only two ways, in or out." Nog motioned for the doorway they came in, and the one next to it which was on Keevan's right. "This one, and that one over there. Second, it's near the airlock which gives us access to our ship. And third, it's on the Promenade where the prisoner exchange will take place."

Everyone was glad for the reasons, but all Keevan wanted was to be away from this place. "Some of this medical equipment is still functioning," Nog's father, Rom, said as he picked up a tricorder and turned it on to confirm, much to the relief of Gaila who complained of an upset stomach, earning a mocking of "needing a new backbone" from Leck, who stood beside Keevan.

"Hey!" Gaila snapped to the hitman. "I'm a weapons dealer, not a soldier."

Behind him, Annora sat down on a few storage cases, watching calmly but inwardly wishing they were away. She was on the same page as he was. _The only thing I sympathize is that they want their mother back. I really want to help them, but I also want you alive and with me and the baby._

He was about to respond when he heard Quark tell his nephew to get the external sensors back online. "I want to know the minute a Dominion ship gets within ten million kilometers of this station." Yes, set off an alarm, but the eight of them against an immense Jem'Hadar unit and their Vorta commander - who, for all he knew, might be Weyoun since the Founder knew of their acquainted history, or worse, one certain Vorta who was made for specific negotiations like this...

"I'll set up a transport jamming signal," Rom announced gladly. "That way the Dominion won't be able to beam away our prisoner without our say-so."

Keevan cracked a small grin; jamming the transport signal would do well against his former people, indeed. "We certainly wouldn't want that to happen, would we?" he asked foxily, allowing the smile to slightly widen before he let it fall, but Leck saw right through his shallow meaning.

"You don't seem to be too happy at the prospect of rejoining your people," he noted, but the sympathy was faux enough.

"Believe me," Keevan replied softly, knowing none of them - except Rom, maybe, who finally looked up from setting up said jamming signal to listen - would care, "when I tell you I have nothing to be happy about. Vorta are supposed to commit suicide when they're captured. I failed to follow that rather...harsh policy."

Rom's hands were visibly shaking along with his voice. He was the only one to actually feel sorry for him; a part of Keevan wanted to thank him for that, and Annora assured him that he should. "They're going to execute you?" Rom stammered fearfully. Keevan nodded solemnly.

"After what is surely going to be a...most unpleasant debriefing."

Quark, of course, couldn't care less, as he glared up at him with antipathy. "I'm sorry to hear about that, but it's not my problem. All I want is my Moogie back." That childish name made Keevan sneer back at him even though he was still smiling.

"By the time the Dominion is done with you, all you'll _want_ ," he drawled, "is a quick _death_."

His comment earned his removal of the room. He heard Nog tell his uncle they would post a guard on him at all times, taking turns every four hours; his excellent hearing caught every word. He tried to think of how to make use of his imprisonment in the next room through that doorway which was the other way out; both ways gave access to the ship. "Perhaps you could help me clarify something," Leck was saying to him. "What's the most vulnerable part of a Jem'Hadar's body?"

He considered scoffing off the question before looking at him halfway, sitting down across the armed Ferengi when the doors closed on them for the time being. "Isn't it obvious, bounty hunter? You already knew the answer long before you asked me: the entire body, but if you're looking to kill quickly, it's the heart." His eyes found the phaser rifle pointed at him, warning him to not go anywhere unless he wanted to be shot. It wasn't intentional to kill him, but he suspected this one in particular could put him out of his misery before the prisoner exchange would take place...

~o~

They spent the next four hours setting up their defenses, setting up alarms and the sensors to check for incoming vessels. Annora had been cramping below her stomach as she made herself useful by helping Nog move cases and crates around to make room, but she had to stop and sit down, which made him look at her with concern, and his father joined.

"What is it?" Rom asked, slightly alarmed. "Did you pull a muscle?"

"No, just a...cramp," she answered, taking a few breaths and stretching her back until her body and muscles relaxed. "Ooohhh, that was a big one." One more month and this might all be over; this was her first baby, so pregnancy was a hell of a new experience for her, and so far she wasn't liking it in the slightest. She'd already been through morning sickness, so what else was next? She already got intense cravings coming in a few months, as well as constantly hitting the bathroom, the latter which made her a little more sick than before.

Already, she wanted the baby out of her body.

 _But I'm not ready yet to raise it. There's so much to do in order to raise a child, both financially and philosophically, and so many other disciplines. I doubt I'm the best model of a mother figure._

Nog looked her over and shook his head. "Maybe you shouldn't have been up at all. Not to be rude, but you shouldn't be here at all. You never told us WHY you came all this way and with the Vorta." His eyes were hard as he put his hands on his hips and bore down on her the same way he did on the desert planet.

Annora returned the look while leaning back and elevating her back as it arched. "Quite frankly, Nog, you wouldn't understand."

He shook his head impatiently. "You said that before to me and Garak, remember? _What_ wouldn't I understand?" The rest of the group, sans cousin Gaila who had gone outside the room to guard Keevan, gathered around to listen to their conversation with wide-eyed interest. "Do you have some sick crush on him or something?"

Something snapped inside Annora that she stood up and glared down at him. How dare he question her feelings at a time like this when the Dominion was on their way here?! "How could you call it that, Nog, because of what we all experienced with him? You and Garak were there for only a short amount of time while I was with him long before you guys came along. If you presume to think he manipulated me in some way, you are mistaken. I don't have a crush on him; I _LOVE_ him. That is why I'm here," she said angrily to the rest of the Ferengi who had not uttered a word while she poured out her rage and the truth.

A small part of her brain - and Keevan - begged her to be calm and think of the baby, to not put too much stress on herself. Keevan seemed to pick up on that so fast. "I wish I was here to help you guys get your mother back, but this is my job to keep the man I love and the father of my child -" She put both hands on her stomach and rubbed in small circles. "- safe and from those monsters he left. I risked everything I had left, including my career and my life for him, so I could get him away so we could live in peace despite the fact there is a war going on. He didn't activate his termination implant while in captivity...because of me and the baby." With that, she turned and brushed them all away, including Nog, so she could push the button beside the door to the other entrance and revealed Gaila and Keevan. She wanted to remain here with him for the duration until those creatures arrived.

"What business brings you here?" Gaila asked insolently, sitting against the stack of crates and aiming his phaser rifle at Keevan, pausing to look up as she entered their presence. "Did Quark say you could be in here with me and the prisoner?"

She spat at him, making him shriek and draw back, his back hitting against the stack further. "I don't need anyone's permission to be here, Gaila. I can be here if I want to." She sat down beside Keevan who was on the other side of the Ferengi, his legs drawn up to his chest and his cuffed hands over the tops of his knees. "You can lower the damn rifle; he won't go anywhere while I'm here." A lie, and a complete one at that. _Sooner or later, his guard will lower, and I'll sneak you to the ship._

Gaila snorted but lowered his rifle anyways, his lazier eye narrowing until it looked actually closed. "The hell he won't, female," he sneered. "Cousin Quark doesn't like the idea of you being here, and neither do I. You just sitting in front of me and 'helping' with my job won't make it easier, and I'm tired enough as it is. Brunt's blasted ship was no help as it was."

His complaints about being tired and unable to get any sleep made her brain light up like a bulb. All of the signs were clear enough in him as it was: he was fighting to prevent his eyelids from closing, but it would be a matter of time. None of the others would be coming in here, and obviously, Quark wouldn't be. He'd made it clear he didn't want the Vorta anywhere near them to give them eloquent remarks or even stubborn silence.

"You can close your eyes then," Annora said with a small smile, trying not to appear sneaky; Keevan looked her way without a wink or twitch. "I can watch the prisoner for you." But Gaila scoffed and turned his eyes away from her but still keeping them on Keevan.

"I'd rather not, female. Like I said, I don't trust you to not get him away if I so much as turn my back to you." _Oh, that will come sooner than he thinks,_ Keevan told her wryly, and how right he was, for one hour almost later, Gaila finally closed his eyes and exhaled sharply, his head lolling to the side and his hands holding the phaser dropping into his lap. By then, Annora was half-asleep herself before she forced herself up and helped Keevan stand, too. It was time. She led him through the other doorway and out into the Promenade, hurrying for the nearest hallway to the airlocks where Brunt's ship waited for them to get away.

They might as well left the six Ferengi behind them for slaughter by the Dominion.

~o~

There was no telling how much longer until the Dominion would arrive, but in the meantime, they were all tired and needed to rest now that Gaila would be watching Keevan - and Annora, which irritated Quark. That woman...to know she was Keevan's lover and bearing his offspring - he knew all along he couldn't trust her! Nevermind that his nephew was acquainted with her, she was a nuisance to all of them, and for her to be with his cousin and the Vorta in the next room was more than a bad idea enough as it was.

And how right it was when all five of them - himself, Rom and Nog, Leck and Brunt - all awoke to fearful screams.

"Who's that?" Nog exclaimed as the screams continued on - and came from the same next room where three others were situated behind closed doors. "Oh, it's Gaila!" He was the first over there and pushed the button over to show cousin Gaila shaking visibly and on the verge of passing out from horror at -

"The Vorta! The woman!" Leck shouted. "Where are they?!"

"I don't know!" Gaila cried when he finally "calmed" himself down. "Th-that female must have slipped our prisoner away while I was sleeping!"

"Sleeping?" Rom repeated angrily. "Who said you could sleep?" Great, now that was two idiots in this group. Quark listened back and forth between them as he tried to think of _where_ Annora took Keevan.

Brunt rounded from Gaila to the rest of them. "See, I knew it about that female; she intended to sneak away with him and leave us to the Dominion all this time. All for herself and some little seed from him in her body." He turned back to Gaila. "And _you_ were supposed to be guarding him!"

"Well, excuse me, but I couldn't help it. I was tired, I couldn't get any rest on the ship -"

Quark's mind snapped to life then. The ship, that was it! In a flash, he left the group and through the door in which the duo had gone, not bothering to wait for the others as he sprinted as fast as he could through the Promenade and got to the hallways of airlocks, rounding on the right corner he came until he found the one...

...and found himself face-to-face with the female herself, standing guard as her Vorta paramour tried to bring the ship to life and failed. Thanks to what Quark asked his brother to do as soon as everyone set up base camp.

"Quark," Annora said tersely, unflinching and sickened. Well, that made two of them. "Why am I not surprised?"

He shoved her aside, not caring that she was pregnant, but it wasn't like he would hurt her. Perhaps he could take her in for attempting to aid a fugitive as soon as they returned home. He saw the slightly slouched figure at the console, sighing heavily as they were finally caught. "You two aren't going anywhere now. But why's that?" he asked with a grin, ignoring the reporter altogether.

Keevan didn't bother turning around. "I couldn't get the impulse engines online, and Annora's not a skilled engineer."

So Nog told him one time. "That's because I had Rom disengage the abduction matrix, since I knew your lady would try something like this all along."

Annora sputtered behind him, a first since he saw her cool and composed; women always cracked with the right amount of pressure. "You knew all along, but you did nothing to keep me in the same room," she accused, but she made no move to attack him physically as he walked from her to sit beside Keevan, whose blank gaze remained on the console. "You thought it was funny to watch us make fools of ourselves."

"No, not really," he lied smoothly. "Just that sometimes my brother gets this wrong. I ran after the both of you as the result. And speaking of which..." He stood up and grabbed Keevan's arm to make him stand; he obeyed without protest, but Annora bared her teeth in a feral snarl. She might be one tough cookie on the outside, but for all Quark knew, she was as weak and submissive as any female sans Moogie and Pell on Ferenginar or any other star system in the galaxy. "...time to get back to the others. Which means..." He paused and looked at the fuming human female, still grinning.

"I think Starfleet Command would be interested in your assistance of an attempted escape. I really don't care if my nephew knows you or not, but you're nothing but a bad influence. Or perhaps, I ought to hand you over with your lover here to the Dominion."

For the first time, Keevan's head whipped around, his purple eyes flashing like fire. "Leave her out of my fate, Ferengi," he hissed.

"No," Annora said hotly, putting her hand to his face to calm him, smiling softly which sickened Quark, and then turned her attention back to him. "I willingly go with him, because all I want is to be with him."

Quark snorted and shoved the Vorta forward until all three of them were outside in time to meet the others, all panting and grasping their knees from running. "All right, people, relax," he told them all. "No harm done. We still have our prisoner - and the other new prisoner," he added with another eye match with Annora, who opened her mouth to spit again when a loud blare sounded over their heads.

"It's the alarm I set off!" Nog shouted. "A Dominion ship is approaching!"

They were here! And they needed to take cover before they got here. The Dominion was probably coming in fast and could catch them all - and kill them - before they returned to base. "TO THE INFIRMARY!" Quark yelled, and they were all running with lightning speed with the alarm still blowing their earlobes out.


	23. Friendly Fire

Chapter Twenty-Two

Friendly Fire

The alarm Nog placed on alert was still ringing the entire time that they raced back to the infirmary, with Brunt in the lead followed by Leck, Gaila stumbling over at every turn, Keevan in between the brothers, and she beside Nog and both of them finishing last so he could be the one to seal the doors to the infirmary just in time.

By the time they cowered against the wall beside the doorway, phasers aimed except for Keevan who was still cuffed and laying on the floor, and Annora knelt down beside him listening with everyone else for any signs of life outside this room, the alarm stopped booming. Did someone turn it off, or did it go off by itself? No one had the answer.

Rom pressed his ear against the wall to listen for any activity. "Do you hear something?" he asked his brother.

Annora tried to listen herself but could only make out thuds of footsteps, and Keevan's a thousand times better senses picked it up clearer, but he wouldn't breathe a word to the equally sensitive Ferengi. _They're out there. They know we're in here, but they want us to come out first. Just bursting in would be too easy for them._

"Someone's out there," Brunt spoke after a little while, "but one of us should go check to make sure." Yeah, she had to agree, and she volunteered before Nog announced he would go with her. Everyone except Keevan still on his side groaned when she went with him, just having to be the brave one with the one with actual combat experience. She had some, too.

"You really didn't have to," Nog whispered harshly as he put down his phaser so he could reach and pry the sliding doors open from the middle and peek out into the Promenade. After some time, he let out a soft gasp and stiffened. Annora joined him and peeked with her right eye and mimicked him when she saw what he did:

A legion of Jem'Hadar were above them, behind the railings, with their weapons pointed down at the infirmary doors. She nearly fell backwards when Nog jolted back and picked up his weapon, shaking more than she was. "God, there's just as many as I imagined," she whispered to him. "Keevan was right when he told me there would be more than needed."

For once, he didn't start a discussion about Keevan. "You know, I agree with him for once," he said, keeping his phaser aimed at the door, which was locked and secured once again. "But Uncle Quark won't like this. And my poor father won't take this well; he was held prisoner by the Dominion, along with Moogie Leeta once, during the occupation."

Everyone was pulled into the war, sucked into political intrigue and danger at every corner, at some point. No one was safe from the Founders and their servants, not even when they tried to stray away or even tried to stand up and do the right thing. She looked over when another voice timidly spoke. "Anybody there?" Quark asked them, and for the moment, their hostilities were off to the side because they had bigger problems to worry about.

"You could say that," she answered while Nog nodded his affirmative much to the distress of his uncle. "A legion of Jem'Hadar is out there, weapons on the range." She left both him and Nog, pistol lowered to her side and returned to the area where the others were waiting. Keevan was now sitting upwards the same way he liked to sit with his legs against his chest, and Leck was still pointing his weapon at her lover's face, which made her snap as she kept her voice low. "Goddamn it, Leck, put that thing down." He hissed and bared his teeth in response. She leaned over and swatted it down herself and squeezed herself between him and Keevan, whose face remained blank and expressionless other than what he sent to her; his people were finally here, and he was even more afraid now, but moreso for her and the baby than himself.

Both uncle and nephew arrived soon after, Nog hopping back beside his father, but Quark looked somber and slow. "Well, Quark, who's out there?" Brunt asked harshly, only for the bartender to shush him down, and then Gaila piped up, irritation mingled with fear.

"There are Jem'Hadar, that's what's out there!"

"Shut up!" Nog hissed, baring his teeth. "Of course they're out there. We _asked_ them to come."

Annora assessed their current situation while looking over to exchange a look with Keevan, but he was doing his best to look anywhere but any of the Ferengi. Here they all were, the eight of them cowering outside the door where the Jem'Hadar were keeping their rifles trained on the door and waiting for them to come out of hiding. They did not come all this way to hide from the enemy; they came here to trade, but she still would not let them take her Keevan unless she had anything to say about it.

And Brunt was agreeing with Nog on this. "He's right; everything's going according to plan, Quark. Now all you have to do is negotiate the prisoner exchange." It was clear they had conflicts in the past; he was the Liquidator from Hell, did everything to make their lives miserable, so he wasn't a favorite on her list, and he was here only to help rescue Ishka to get his old position on Ferenginar back. He was one Ferengi to only care about himself. "Remember, be firm and strong - but don't get them angry," he added anxiously, which Rom agreed.

"Good luck, brother," he stammered, reaching over to pat him on the shoulder. "Say hi to Moogie for me."

Quark nodded, but he wasn't convinced as Annora wasn't. He knew this wasn't just grab Moogie, give Keevan to the Dominion and go unscathed, as much as she and the possible father of her child did. "What if it's a..." he asked slowly, looking over at them. "...trap?"

"Of course it's a trap," Keevan stated plainly, and all eyes were on him. He still spoke dully but just as anxiously as the rest of them. "I used to serve them, remember? They're not here to negotiate; they're here to kill us _all_." He finished the last word with halfway turning his face to her. _If they DO kill us, then we die together and not apart._

She didn't want to think about dying anymore, no matter now being their time. She looked at Quark, who was considering Keevan's words. "You think?" he asked nervously, but then Brunt opened his mouth once more. When was that groveling bastard going to shut the hell up? Annora wanted to yank off that bar of latinum from around his neck and shove it in his mouth - or better, up his ass.

"Don't listen to him, Quark. He's just trying to save his own neck."

He spoke the way Captain Sisko thought of him all those weeks ago, with the fiasco with the Jem'Hadar. Keevan glared at him to shut up, wishing the same things she was, then turned pleadingly to Quark. "I'm trying to save _all_ our necks," he insisted. "We have to get away before -" He was cut off when a booming voice breached the walls and reached their ears, making everyone tense.

 _"Ferengi, show yourselves! We're here to trade."_

 _Oh, gods, no. It's him._ Keevan's reaction was fearful, and Annora had the slightest feeling he KNEW whoever was out there. It was another Vorta, no doubt. _It is,_ he responded before continuing his pleas with Quark. "I beg you, don't go out there. We _must_ get back to the ship. Our only hope is to _escape_."

Nog shook his head and disagreed altogether, as much as the idea was tempting. "We are NOT going anywhere, not without Moogie. Right, Uncle?" he asked Quark, who was leaning forward with his head in both hands, struggling with going out to meet the mysterious Vorta and his legion to save his mother's life. Finally, he nodded and agreed with his nephew in time for the Vorta to impatiently call out again.

 _"Ferengi, I don't like to be kept waiting!"_

Quark stood up and dusted himself off with equal impatience. "I'm coming, alright!" he yelled back, before looking back down at his brother and nephew. "And you two are coming with me."

Nog eagerly jolted to his feet, but Rom wasn't so excited. "I was afraid he was going to say that," he said numbly before rising at his older brother's demand. If they were going, so was Annora. She rose from between Leck and Keevan, pausing to look down at him and meeting his eyes, wide with horror.

 _Darling, you don't want to meet the Vorta. He's not to be trifled with. Weyoun is the master of our people, but the one you will meet soon is the less patient of us all._

 _I'll be fine,_ she assured him gently, waving a kiss through their bond. However, as she followed the three Ferengi outside, she couldn't help but wonder with some worry what could be so bad about this impatient, "dangerous" Vorta waiting for them.

~o~

Just the three of them accompanied by a human female was enough to assure Quark by only a little, but his brother Rom wasn't too happy, especially when Leeta was back on Deep Space 9 waiting for him and Nog to return safely, and who was going to run the bar if Quark got himself killed?

Annora was here for her lover's sake; Quark had all but given up arguing with her, especially with her reasons for tagging along in this part. She would plead with Keevan's case, agreeing to come along and surrender to the Dominion to be with the father of her child. A part of Quark's mind wondered if that blip in her belly was even the Vorta's. Nog had said she'd been married before losing her husband barely even two months ago, so what if this thing was the poor man's? That was beyond his knowledge, anyway.

Annora O'Neal was a foolish woman, if you asked him. She defied anyone to do what she thought was best; the best words to describe her were arrogant and ambitious, since he heard enough about her through her news reports and some of her novel works no match for Jake Sisko. Her very presence here was troublesome and threatening everything that involved getting them out alive and Moogie safe and sound; she was here for her own selfish reasons involving her lover and baby daddy...

He stopped his train of thought there when he looked at her one more time after exchanging glances with his brother and nephew; he saw that her durable shell was slowly softening as she took in the Jem'Hadar still looking down at them and aiming their phaser rifles at them, ensuring them they were outnumbered, and finally at the figures not that far down from where they stood - there was Moogie beside the Vorta and two more Jem'Hadar - he started to second-guess his thoughts on her.

She was here for the same purpose he was with the others, besides the one who didn't care about latinum and only a challenge, another who wanted his old position back, and a fallen member trying to get back on top: she was here to save the one she loved no matter the cost. His brother was a hopeless romantic, not the traditional Ferengi, but eventually got Leeta in the end, so he couldn't hate Annora forever. If there had to be a way to save both Moogie and Keevan then...

"Moogie!" Rom called out as they neared the small group, unable to contain himself.

"My boys, I knew you'd come," Ishka replied, smiling from ear to ear, but the Vorta beside her was the exact opposite. His face was sallow and ashen, not like the few Vorta he'd encountered. Vorta were sensual and irresistible, at least to others not Ferengi, but this one was the perfect stand out from them all.

"You look...beautiful," Rom went on, still amazed and forgetting the situation they were in for the moment.

Ishka blushed and reached up to briefly pinch her right ear. "My lobes haven't been this firm in over a century. All of that trouble I went through was worth it. Zekkie -" Quark was still reeling from the nickname she gave the Grand Nagus, so he couldn't help but flinch. "- would love it when I get home, and don't you start with me, Quark," she snapped when she saw his expression. Then her attention shifted to Annora, who was right behind Nog. "Oh, I didn't know you'd be bringing some human company. Who are you, dear?" she asked sweetly.

Annora stepped forward so she was between him and Nog, managing a little smile. "My name is Annora, and it's a pleasure to meet you, Ishka." She was then interrupted by the irritable Vorta, but she didn't appear to be intimidated by him in any way - or was she just hiding it?

"What a touching and heartfelt reunion; I'm glad I was here to witness it," he said sarcastically before getting firmer, "but I don't have any more time for this. Where's Keevan? I wish to conclude this transaction."

"All in good time," Quark said, taking into mind the numbers of soldiers overhead waiting to shoot them all dead if they dared to fire on the Vorta and the other two guards. He would play good alright, and he knew just how to do it now. He was never out of any ideas unless it had to be. Ferengi always knew how to play games with the right hand. "But first, I need some assurances."

The Vorta blinked, bored and interested at the same time. "What kind of assurances?" His voice was a drawl that a female might shiver up the spine from, but for a male, it was unnerving, to say the least.

"Well, first," Quark answered proudly, "I don't want _any_ Jem'Hadar soldiers on this station." That would give them the safety they deserved, because now the situation had just gotten a little easier now that the Vorta's face twitched with vague hysteria.

"Well, that would leave me in a very vulnerable position. One Vorta against six Ferengi - and a human girl," he said when he looked Annora's way. She hadn't uttered a word to him once, but since Quark knew her well enough so far, she was waiting till she saw her time coming. Now that he thought of it, she reminded him a little bit of Dax.

Quark wasn't a people pleaser - _much_ \- for his own reasons, but if this despicable creature wanted to trust him on this in the slightest way, then Quark would allow one or two Jem'Hadar with him. "If it makes you feel better then, these two can stay." He motioned to the two soldiers beside his mother and the Vorta, whose name he wondered but didn't care to ask.

The Vorta chuckled. "I feel a lot safer already." His expression returned to serious. "Now, Keevan."

He didn't know any patience, did he? "Hold on, I'm not done. Then, you're going to tell your helmsman to head back to Dominion territory, warp nine," he ordered, his insides swelling up that this Vorta was even agreeing with him so easily. Was he that much of an idiot if not on Rom's level, despite his intelligence he shared with the rest of his people including that ruthless Weyoun character?

"That would...leave me stranded here for a few days." The way he spoke it said that he would miss all the fun with seeing them all killed for the sake of it; that was what the Dominion was all about, taking what they want and offing you afterwards if the slightest glitch occured. "And by the time they return, you'll be long gone."

Finally Annora was speaking, and Quark looked over to see her smirking. "That's the idea, whatever your name is," she said smoothly, which finally cracked a small returning grin from the Vorta, whose name they now learned was Yelgrun. He seemed to be impressed with her spirit - but then he had to do the best thing in threatening them with having his Jem'Hadar "storm the infirmary and kill you all."

"If you attack the infirmary," Quark said, stepping in, "Keevan will be the first one to die." He had no intention to kill the reporter's lover, but she did her best to look offended. And Yelgrun's smile was most frightening.

"Keevan's fate has already been sealed."

Annora's thread seemed to snap, for she pushed Nog aside so she was in front of all of them. "If his fate is sealed, then so is mine, Yelgrun," she said bravely. This was a being willing to go with someone they loved to a terrible fate. Keevan was sentenced to death for treachery by his own people, and Annora was willing to give her own life up - and the baby's - for his? Or would she attempt to plead for his life until she had no breath left? She'd be wasting her time and end with facing death with her lover. "I won't let you kill Keevan, because you'd probably wanna know what secrets of the Dominion he revealed for the Federation."

Yelgrun took a step forward, both eyebrows raised and the sinister smile still in place. "That's why the Founders want him back, girl," he said coolly. "But after they debrief him for any valuable information he still possesses, they'll have him put in the gas chamber or whatever available afterwards. You've begun to interest me; why would you beg for one Vorta's life?" He stopped right there, eyes moving over her as if scanning her. "Unless you are someone important to Keevan you would be willing to trade your life for his."

"He's my lover," she answered without hesitation, putting a hand over her abdomen, but Yelgrun didn't seem to understand the gesture, or unless she didn't intend for him to know she was pregnant with Keevan's child. "Your gods can do whatever they want with me, if only his life is spared. I repeat, you want him alive enough as well as these Ferengi to crave for any sensitive information he divulged to my people."

She had put him in his place, which pleased them all, even Ishka. This was another strong female she started to admire. "She's got you there, Yelgrun," she piped cheerily.

Yelgrun looked between her and then Annora, and finally back to Quark. "Such a spirited woman you brought with you, and a loyal lover of a Dominion traitor. The Founder would be happy to accept her. And as for you, your people have a reputation for cunning, and I see it's well-earned. Perhaps one day the Ferengi will take their places as valued members of the Dominion."

"Anything's possible." As a human would say, the hell it was. The Ferengi would gladly do their business with anyone BUT the enemy waging war against not only innocent civilians, but also business doers like himself.

"I will begin to evacuate the Jem'Hadar at once."

"We can exchange the prisoners in, let's say...half an hour?" Quark suggested innocently. Yelgrun nodded, but the impatience was back. He clearly loathed waiting for any amount of time, and it amused Quark to no end.

"We'll be waiting." He and his Jem'Hadar, as well as Moogie, started to walk away before Nog called them back.

"How do we know that's really Moogie and not a _Changeling_?"

Quark stopped. Why didn't he think of that before? Ishka - or a Changeling? - glared at her grandson, baring her teeth. "I think that uniform is too tight on you, Nog," she said angrily. "It's cutting off the circulation to your brain." It sounded like Moogie, like Rom said, but how could they be sure?

"Only one way to find out," Nog stated, taking his knife out and starting over, taking a hand and driving the blade across the palm. Ishka shrieked; that wasn't easy to fake. Quark took the blade and examined it. Yep, it was red blood, indeed.

"I _knew_ it was Moogie!" Rom said excitedly.

Ishka was holding her hand when she started to take the knife from her grandson, wanting to return the favor by trying to see if he was the Changeling instead, but Quark wouldn't have it. "I don't think so. Family," he said to Yelgrun. "You understand."

"Not really," the Vorta said dully. "I was cloned."

Rom blinked in utter surprise. "You mean, no parents?"

Annora giggled behind her hand over her mouth. "No parents, no sweetheart perhaps." Yelgrun glared at her, raising an eyebrow, even higher at Ishka's "no investment portfolio."

"And no patience," he finished. "We'll meet back here in one half hour."

~o~

"You should have seen my brother. He was _brilliant!"_

The high spirits of the Ferengi made Keevan shrink further away into Annora, further away from Leck who tried to slap him on the shoulder in his own good mood; he wanted nothing of the Ferengi touch on him. They were all giddy with waiting to get their mother back and that substantial reward money which he'd heard was twenty bars. Yelgrun had begun to evacuate the Jem'Hadar off the station with the exception of two, but he and Annora wouldn't be so lucky since he would be given over anyway - and she was going with him. _You shouldn't have done that,_ he sent, shaking her off at once.

 _I did it for you, for the both of us,_ she replied calmly, but he had no reason to be this time.

 _We discussed it before. The baby could be aborted against our wishes or perhaps taken away - or worse, let us raise it and live "happily" until taken from us to do the Founders' bidding. I told you I won't let this happen, unless you can come up with a plan B to escape Yelgrun before he brings us to Cardassia Prime._

She froze right there. She had no idea how they'd get away - unless they could convince the group somehow to band up and take down the Jem'Hadar and Yelgrun in any way they could. That sounded with merit enough, but HOW? They had a half hour left, and then Ishka would be back with them, but his life and Annora's - and the baby's - were in danger.

"Home, to the torrential rains of Ferenginar," Gaila was saying dreamily. "To the rotten vegetation, the dampness..."

"And to stand once more in those rivers of muck," Leck said happily, turning his sickening grinning face to Keevan, but he only sniffed in disgust.

"Oh, I only wish we could be there with you," he said repulsively, but of course, they waved off his distaste. _Ferenginar isn't the place for us, however,_ he sent to Annora, who nodded her agreement while rubbing her abdomen in small circles.

 _I don't see myself being naked and submissive, giving everything I have up for you to run our household._

 _Of course not._

"I can't believe we're actually getting the reward money," Rom said. "Fifty bars of gold-pressed latinum."

A sudden, heavy silence filled the room then. And that was when Keevan sensed all hell was going to break loose. "Fifty bars?" Brunt repeated, baffled. "Quark, you said the reward was twenty." There was an edge to his voice that bordered on growing anger, and Gaila's face was matching.

So, Quark tried cheating everyone but his brother and himself, hiding thirty bars and splitting twenty with the others. Things were getting uglier as it bounced back and forth from Quark saying Rom actually meant twenty, but Leck caught on, being the one who didn't care about latinum but didn't like to be cheated. Now everyone joined in for an impending outbreak of a heated argument, no matter Nog trying to calm everyone down.

" _Calm down?"_ Gaila repeated angrily. "My dear cousin is trying to CHEAT me!"

Quark was panicking now, and it did little good. "I'm not trying to cheat anyone!" he protested, waving his hands in the air.

"Then what about the other thirty bars?"

"There are no other thirty bars!" Nog insisted before turning to look up at his father questioningly. "Are there?" He tried to be innocent as his father, who shook his head not really, but cheating over latinum never ended there just as easily. Keevan quickly stepped aside with Annora as they both knew a shootout would occur...and Annora had her own agenda as her hand went to her pistol strapped to her belt. _I won't fatally maim, just bruise some pride and shut them the hell up over this ridiculous monetary nonsense._

"You're lying for your brother, and I know it!" Brunt accused, pointing the finger to Rom before returning to Quark. "You're NOT gonna get away with this, Quark!"

Gaila's voice rose higher than the former Liquidator. "I come here, risk my life, and for WHAT?!" He picked up his phaser rifle from his side and aimed it at the small group. "You've had this coming for a _long_ time, cousin!"

Brunt's scream of fright as well as him running to the other side timed perfectly with the group parting, Quark included, and the shot aimed at Keevan _and_ Annora instead -

\- only for them to part on either side, and the fire hit the wall between them, sparing their lives but making Annora burn furiously at this petty dispute over the real issue at hand, and for _Gaila_ almost trying to KILL them. She stared with Keevan and the others first at the burning hole in the steel wall for a few moments before slowly turning around and glaring at Gaila, who lowered his phaser before raising both hands to show her he gave up, but she wasn't letting this go. She drew her phaser pistol and aimed it straight at Gaila before pulling the trigger without hesitation, aiming it for the side of his head and cleanly searing part of his left ear. He howled and dropped his weapon, falling back and clutching his ear in agony.

Keevan stared first at the mildly injured Ferengi who tried to kill his cousin for trying to cheat him, then at his pregnant lover who smiled without shame only briefly before her lip curled.

"Any of you want the same treatment over a goddamn reward?" she growled, ignoring Quark and his family and focusing her attention on Brunt and Leck. "Are any of us gonna talk some goddamn sense because LIVES are at stake? How can a reward be more important than ANY of us getting out of here alive?"

 **Whoo, Keevan LIVES, and Annora just shot Gaila in the ear - which I imagine is the same level of pain as a guy getting kicked in the junk. XD**

 **But now the question is HOW the couple gets away after the Ferengi get Ishka back.**


	24. For All It's Worth

**I got someone asking me questions as to why Keevan didn't try talking her out of doing things that could hurt her or the baby, as well as him not getting upset that he and his pregnant lover were almost shot, because it was Annora who was doing the job for him. To clear this up, he IS protective, but he's not much use in cuffs obviously. And he WAS upset at almost being shot, but he doesn't show it much. He'll lash out when the time comes.**

 **I really had to take great care with this chapter, because since the episode "The Magnificent Ferengi" has been slightly tweaked, things will be different for the couple now that they are both free, but they WILL return to the others in the event of time. I can't just toss anything in here just like that.**

Chapter Twenty-Three

For All It's Worth

Gaila was sitting and squealing over his wounded ear, the others wincing and holding their own ears as if feeling his pain. Served him right, and she didn't care if she hurt him or not. He deserved it, and for trying to kill Quark; he would have accidentally killed a pregnant woman or her handcuffed lover if not his own cousin.

 _He got what he deserved,_ Keevan sent to her, making her smile as she helped him out of his cuffs, firing her phaser at them and severing the chain between them. None of the Ferengi objected as most of them were too focused on taking care of "poor" Gaila's ear; Nog was being the doctor in running the tricorder and then applying the still-useful meds. And the patient himself was screaming obscenities to Annora.

"That blasted female tried to kill me!" he howled to his cousin whom he tried to kill over the reward. "She seared my poor ear and -" Annora snapped internally and turned to raise her phaser at him again but did not pull the trigger. He stopped talking altogether when he saw her. This would be the last time he would talk about her like that.

"If you call me 'female' one more time, I'll kill you," she warned. "I don't want to murder you right here and right now, but I swear to my God if you do, then I won't hesitate like I didn't to your ear. It's no less than you deserve not only that for trying to shoot us." She jerked her head in Keevan's direction as he matched her face while eyeing Gaila like a predator. "You got it?"

His jaw was slack-dropped, but he nodded without uttering a word. "Now, Annora, that's enough shooting in this room," Quark said from behind her, forcing her to spin around and aim it at him. He shrieked, too, and drew back. Keevan stopped her, putting his hand on her weapon and lowering it down. He was surprisingly calm during this entire ordeal unlike her.

"Annora," he said, finally dropping his aloof shell for the others at last and surprising her more now, "I don't like this any more than you do, but we have less than twenty minutes left until Yelgrun finishes the evacuation. But here we all fighting over a blasted reward and not our lives and Ishka." He was still wearing the cuffs on his wrists when he placed his hands in front of himself and gracefully turned around to face the others.

"It's no secret that I HATE Ferengi," he said angrily, getting all their attentions to him. "Obviously because of this mess transpiring when we should be focusing on a much greater picture outside this petty monetary dispute that absolutely disgusts me. You all don't see that there is still us against the Dominion no matter the unit but three leaving this station. None of you stand a chance if we keep up arguing amongst ourselves instead of coming up with an understanding to save ALL of our necks." He turned his attention to Gaila who was still sitting on the medical bed and holding on his still-injured ear and whimpering, rolling his eyes. He then turned to look at Quark when the ringleader himself nodded and stepped forward to the middle of the circle.

"Never thought I'd say this, but he's right, people. I mean, come on, here we are fighting when Moogie is depending on us. We have to start agreeing if we wanna get our skins and hers out of this place. Have any of you forgotten the Battle of Prexnak?"

Annora frowned with Keevan as she remembered what Rom pointed out was "the most important battle in Ferengi history", in which ten Ferengi stood against two hundred and seventy-three of Lytasians - but like the three hundred numbered army of Leonidas in 480 BC, the small-numbered Ferengi were slaughtered. Gaila pointing this out with despair did not sway Quark away from his convincing argument, however. "The point is," he said agitatedly, "we Ferengi can be just as tough as _anyone_ in the galaxy, including the Klingons." He raised his own phaser in the air as part of his emphasis. "And _this_ is our chance to prove it."

"He's right," Leck said, joining him by his side. "Let's do this. Let's do this for Ishka, for the Grand Nagus - for Ferengi everywhere!" He waved his fist above his head.

"Let's do it...for equal shares of fifty bars of gold-pressed latinum," Brunt said, crushing the spirits once again. Now Annora wished she'd have shot him like she did with Gaila, who chipped in that they were Ferengi, and Ferengi always came down to profit. _Well, what the hell?_ she sent to Keevan. _We can't change that part of them, now can we?_ She looked up at him to see him smiling softly.

 _No, I don't suppose we can._ He leaned down then and chastely kissed her, the first time in front of their unlikely new allies. Then Rom was the one to sigh for them while everyone else rolled their eyes.

"Now, that's love. That's what Leeta and I share. Brother, what should we do for them now that we've settled our differences?"

She wondered if she would still be handed over to Starfleet, now that the question was brought back up. Quark was always serious, never once joking, so as she held onto Keevan as they both looked in the Ferengi's direction, now she couldn't help but -

"Eh, let them go after all. They are starting a family and deserve to be together, I suppose. I don't even know much about the subject other than failing at it instead of business. Just watching others around me experience it and not myself. I'm not that heartless a man, after all."

~o~

His arms held his beloved even closer, burying his face into her hair and turning his attention from the Ferengi entirely. Was this really happening? His ears heard right when Quark publicly announced he was... _letting us go_. _He's really letting us go._

A small part of him wondered if the Ferengi was just playing a trick into having them lower their guards down until they were handed over to Starfleet for attempting to escape, or whatever excuse Quark would give them. Ferengi lied and cheated, so they might as well be doing the same. He released Annora but kept his hands on her forearms as he watched Quark suspiciously. "How do I know for sure you are not setting us up to lower our defenses? I myself need more convincing than that."

Nog was right in front of him, arms folded across his chest. "My uncle is many things, but he means it whenever it fits him. He's telling the truth this time, the both of you. You don't need anything more than that," he assured them. He could never understand Ferengi in this manner, but Nog, being a noble member of Starfleet and not exactly "true" to his people, was someone Keevan started to see as no longer a problem. His father could be classified as someone foolish and yet reliable; he liked almost anyone, which was something Keevan himself still struggled with at times. And there was what Weyoun told him once long ago: _"You can't distrust and dislike everyone. There is still much joy to be had if you want to make friends and allies, have enemies less. How worthy is life, however long or short it may be, without lowering the shields to let the outside in?"_

He had taken that to heart, with this woman in his arms and their child in her body, but now he looked at the six Ferengi, including the one who almost shot him and Annora accidentally in an effort to kill his cousin. He finally looked into Quark's eyes and saw that his nephew was telling the truth; Quark intended to set him and Annora free. Annora wasn't his favorite person in the universe, and he didn't like Keevan any better, but they belonged together in these harsh times, and it was because he had a family himself if not like this. _Keevan, believe him._

"Fine," he said finally, "I'll accept your word, Quark."

Now everyone breathed a sigh of relief, including Brunt and Gaila. Those two would never be on his best list, and neither would Leck simply because of his love of the kill, and Quark was a maybe on his part. He wasn't moved so easily by innocence, but Rom hadn't done anything to earn his dislike. And Nog might still hate him for what happened between him and Captain Sisko, but the young Ferengi was slowly losing hold on that.

"Finally, now we're all in agreement," Quark said, before shaking his head and muttering, though Keevan's keen hearing caught on. "I never thought I'd be working with prisoners."

"Don't you mean, ex-prisoners, Quark?" Keevan asked coyly, grinning when the Ferengi looked shocked. "Vorta hearing is just as excellent as Ferengi."

Annora pulled from his arms, having cut herself off from them and thinking of the plan. "Excuse me for interrupting, but I have an idea as to how we can save ourselves and Ishka, then get back to the ship so we can escape." Everyone gathered around then, eager to listen to her as she explained the setup against Yelgrun and his Jem'Hadar.

He'd known the older Vorta since he was first cloned, then Weyoun took him as his pupil. He had briefly been given to Yelgrun, one of the longest-running Field Supervisors who was incarnation number five - he was just as old as Weyoun was - and learned enough of what he could before Yelgrun's impatient attitude became more than he could bear. It wasn't that he hated Yelgrun; he was just obnoxious and intolerable. It was no wonder the man was despised so much despite his record of achievements, even loathed by the Founders, not that he ever cared. It was also no wonder he lacked female company of his own will.

But that hadn't stopped the way he began to look at Keevan in a different way during the course of their short-lived working relationship.

Keevan was no stranger to males and females alike looking at him that way, but for Yelgrun who was his short-time teacher to eye him that way was perturbing and unsettling to his nerves. He couldn't say Yelgrun wasn't attractive, but he wasn't interested in the other Vorta in that way, but safe to say Yelgrun hadn't take the rejection well. They never spoke again after that, not even when Weyoun, who had not yet become ambassador, took him in for the duration. He could never forget the hateful fire in Yelgrun's eyes as he would never forget the younger Vorta's refusal to become his lover.

~o~

 _"You're nothing."_

 _He spun around to look at the older Vorta's gray-violet eyes, fuming with more fire than before. All these weeks progressing into months had turned into strain in their relationship. They weren't together physically; how could they? Keevan was never interested in Yelgrun in that manner, but the older Field Supervisor took nothing to heart. The backlash was to be expected, but to be called nothing? How could he call his best pupil this?!_

 _Keevan lost his cool then and swung his fist over a table, knocking some useless items off the table. These were Yelgrun's quarters, but he didn't care. "How dare you call me nothing!" he yelled back, the corners of his eyes burning with hurt. "You're not favored all that well by the Founders while I am their newest and so far favorited, most prized. You simply do not take refusals and never forgive for anything. What was_ I _thinking you would be a better man than this?"_

 _Yelgrun's face was unflinching, but the fire was there, reflecting Keevan's. So was the betrayal. "And what was_ I _thinking about, thinking you would be more than just my student?" He moved forward then, leaning halfway so his face was meters away from Keevan's. "And you were the first to ever accept me, understand me and never once questioned me, never complained about anything about me -"_

 _He was just reaching up to cup Keevan's face with both his hands, but the young Vorta wanted nothing to do with any form of contact. Scoffing disgustedly, he drew back and snarled, baring his teeth. "Nothing other than your lack of patience. I could put up with Borath and Eris better than you. Sometimes I wished I was assigned to another teacher than you, Yelgrun." Someone who actually treated him as an equal, praised him more often than Yelgrun would sigh and shake his head at any mistake he made, make him feel special - he would never bring in singling out his gods. He would accept glares and disapproval from the Founders if he erred, disappointment from his friends, but not from someone whom he wanted to call...a friend._

 _"I thought you would be my friend, Yelgrun," he said softly, throat closing in around his esophagus as he felt the tears finally roll down his cheeks. He never cried, the original Keevan never cried, so why was he now? He never thought he would long to find someone to actually care about him in a way more than just appraisal for his talents. He didn't want just the love that the rest of his people scrambled for from their makers and gave them because they had to; he wanted_ more _. But not the way Yelgrun of all people wanted him._

 _"And I thought you would see more in me than just a friend and teacher," Yelgrun returned, softly but still dark with anger. "I could see and smell it off you. You saw the way I looked at you, you might have heard me call your name at night, and I never stop having those thoughts about you -"_

 _Something in his being broke that he exploded. "Stop this!" He turned to walk out of these quarters, wanting to get away, but Yelgrun would not let him go that easily. The young Vorta was grabbed by the arm and pulled back, his body enveloped against Yelgrun's. He struggled. "Let me go this instance!"_

 _"No," Yelgrun growled, leaning down and smashing his mouth against Keevan's, his tongue forcing his mouth open so he could taste Keevan for the first time, but the young man wouldn't have this. He did NOT like this in the slightest; he knew little to nothing about physical attraction, but this did not feel right. Yelgrun did not say the words directly, but he had fallen for Keevan who did not feel the same way. He would stand his ground and fight to protect himself; Yelgrun had become a danger to him now._

 _He brought his hand up in an effort to caress that one vulnerable spot on a Vorta's body besides between their legs, while one of Yelgrun's arms held him as his free hand explored Keevan's back and eventually came down to grope his buttocks, and Keevan grasped Yelgrun's left ear and scratched his nails along the sensitive ridges, causing the older Vorta to roar in pain and release him, only to swing out and strike Keevan's face, the impact sending him onto the table facedown. Another blow had come, this time to his backside as an addition to wound his pride. He bit back the groan as he tried to stand up, but Yelgrun was on him again, reaching for the tight waistband of his pants. He yelled to the computer to send in the security team to Yelgrun's quarters in time for the other Vorta to slap his hand over his mouth._

 _"You're selling me out after everything, after betraying my trust, Keevan! They'll keep you away from me, do everything to keep us separated! Do you realize what you're doing to me - to US?"_

 _He looked up with Keevan in time to see three Jem'Hadar guards beam into the quarters and raise their rifles at them. "Stand down, sir," one of them ordered, "and step away from him." Yelgrun begrudgingly obeyed and released Keevan, who ran away for the doors as the guards moved to handcuff Yelgrun and take him in for questioning. The Dominion wasn't entirely brutal, executing without further investigation, but Yelgrun would be dealt with most accordingly if not executed for assaulting a fellow operative. He was currently incarnation number four, so they'd have to see. Keevan was about to open the doors and return to his for the time being, but Yelgrun continued to explode with hateful words that would haunt Keevan for a long time to come._

 _"We're not done, Keevan. I took you in and you thank me this way. You can go about your business and serving the Dominion as faithfully as I do, but you will always be a pretty little face with nothing from the inside to give back. You will always be alone as I am, even if you do manage to feel something for another and they don't return it to you. When that day comes, you'll feel the same pain that I do. You'll_ NEVER _be happier than you are giving your life for the Founders."_

~o~

 _"It's time, Ferengi."_

Yelgrun was calling for them now, and Quark started to panic. Time had flown so quickly, but the plan had already been decided on. Now it was up to him to do the honors of going out there to meet with Yelgrun and Moogie, and the remaining Jem'Hadar with their rifles lowered for now but ready to fire at the slightest misstep. "Stall them, Uncle," Nog told him as the group rallied up to assume their positions, leaving him to pull himself straight and go out the front door of the infirmary.

Yelgrun was somber as ever, eyes lazy with boredom and ready to finish their business. "I've done what you wanted, and the Jem'Hadar except these two -" He motioned to his right with his head. "- are on their way back to Dominion territory. Now bring me Keevan and the girl, and we can conclude our business," he ordered, voice tighter than before. "Without _any_ further delays. I warned you about my lack of patience."

Now that the warning had been given, Quark, being used to threats by now but always shaken every time, was feeling more than a little intimidated, even under the Vorta's scrutinizing eyes and raised eyebrow. "I'll bring the prisoners out soon, but first, my brother has to do a sensor scan just to make sure they're really gone. For only a few minutes more, but none more."

Yelgrun's voice rose high enough to jerk his ears in a fury. "No, not in a few minutes, NOW! A sensor scan is not necessary because they _are_ gone," he said, before his mouth cruelly twisted into a sadistic smile as he turned his attention to Moogie. "Unless you changed your mind...and you don't want your mother back." He motioned with his head, and the Jem'Hadar raised their rifles to Ishka. "Kill her."

"No!" Quark cried, and they stopped. Ishka was glaring at him now.

"Give them what they want, Quark."

"I _will!_ " he insisted. "Yelgrun, we'll finish our business soon if only for a few short minutes of my brother completing the scans." That was the best excuse to give, but it also meant driving Yelgrun's irritation levels much higher, not that he cared - but it also made him worry about the Vorta following through on his threat in sending in his Jem'Hadar to kill them all like the ten Ferengi of the past.

"Oh, and I thought the _Breen_ were annoying." Yelgrun sighed disgustedly and shook his head. Ferengi were now on his list of detest, it seemed. "It saddens me with this lack of trust. All right," he said dejectedly, "we'll wait for five minutes, but no more delays."

Quark tried not to smile as excitement rose inside him and the worry lessened only a little bit. "And one more thing," he called out when Yelgrun started away only to turn back and roll his eyes, muttering why he wasn't surprised to hear what Quark said. "I would prefer if we switched locations from here to Airlock Three."

Yelgrun's face instantly changed to mildly surprised. "What's wrong with the Promenade?" he asked, curiosity and suspicion mingled together in one.

"Our ship is docked there. You understand," Quark answered easily, now itching to rejoin the group so they could get the hell over with this. Yelgrun watched him for a few moments before agreeing. Five minutes, that was all they had. He nodded and hurred inside to close the doors behind him. "All right, people, we have to hurry and assume the positions! Keevan and Annora, you two are with me..."

~o~

She was more than ready to take down some Jem'Hadar, armed with her phaser pistol, but Keevan was more guarded than she was, reminding her of the baby. Chances were she might get hit in the abdomen and suffer a miscarriage, and now she started to second-guess. And she was goddamned ready to shoot down some Jem'Hadar.

But then she stopped herself when she found herself looking down at her slightly growing abdomen. She was having a baby, a new life she was giving. It was her responsibility to make sure nothing happened to her child; a part of her wondered how she could have been so stupid to come out here in the first place after all. She'd done this before, but she wasn't even pregnant then. _I'll stay by your side,_ Keevan sent as they stood beside Quark, hand in hand, at the end of the corridor while Yelgrun, Ishka and the Jem'Hadar waited at the other end. "Yelgrun!" Quark called out, getting their attention. "Ready?"

"I've been ready for _hours_ ," Yelgrun called back, tired of all the delays. Hours? A _half hour_ was more than enough to snap his thread? _He hasn't changed a bit, but a Vorta NEVER changes,_ Keevan sent. Annora looked up at him; he didn't look at her, just kept hard eyes on the other Vorta at the other end. He loathed Yelgrun for some reason, but why? _We were old friends in the beginning, but everything spiraled. I have no time to explain any further._

"All right, you two," Quark whispered to them, "it's showtime. And Yelgrun," he called again, "on the count of three, we release the prisoners. One...two...three."

 _Now!_

She and Keevan continued to walk with their hands together, giving Yelgrun the appearance of lovers going to their doom together - until the trap was sprung. Her stomach tingled with each step they took together, Ishka approaching them nervously, afraid of both her life as well as theirs, and for her son, because the Jem'Hadar were ready as ever for some prey. The steps both prisoners took were slow and gait at the same time, but by the time she and Keevan were near Yelgrun and his soldiers, she paused in her steps to look over her shoulder, Keevan pausing with her.

Ishka and her son were embracing. She was safe and sound, so there was only one part to play left.

Annora was the one to jump and Keevan to catch her by the arms, swinging her around so her legs whipped out and kicked Yelgrun to the ground. He fell onto his side before looking up and shouting to his soldiers, just as Quark and Ishka dove for cover. "STOP THEM!"

Keevan let Annora go so she could dive a shot from one of the Jem'Hadar; the other had fired a shot at mother and son but missed them, and had turned his attention to Keevan - only to be catching a fatal blow to the chest with Leck's knife. He was dead after he hit the floor. Keevan picked up his phaser rifle and stood up to aim it down at Yelgrun, face twisted and altogether warning him not to do anything foolish, while Annora kicked the remaining Jem'Hadar below the waist and slid away as more assistance arrived. He was shot dead when Brunt and Rom flew out from the end of the corridor where Nog had been hiding.

Annora stood up, one hand over her stomach as she was helped up by Nog who came to her side. "You okay?" he asked, looking first at her face and then down. "The baby?"

"We're both fine."

"You can leave him to me now." She looked over to Keevan who lowered his newly acquired phaser rifle at Brunt's insistence, so the Ferengi would force Yelgrun to his feet and keep his weapon aimed at the newest prisoner, who was still glaring at Keevan with violent hatred in his entire face. Keevan tore his eyes away to look into Annora's, smiling softly and lowering them to her abdomen.

 _Bless you both, you're all right._ He lifted his free hand and placed it with hers, feeling their baby which was still not further along yet. She leaned up and kissed him tenderly. They were both all right, and so were the others behind them. Ishka was telling both her sons and grandson that the Grand Nagus would be just as proud of them as she was.

"What do we do with this one?" Brunt asked as he led Yelgrun to join the rest of them. The Vorta was scowling the entire time, but Quark laughed.

"We'll take him with us. He'll be our gift to Starfleet. They gave us a Vorta..." He nodded at Keevan who arrived with Annora beside him and in Yelgrun's line of eyesight once again. "...and now we'll give _them_ one."

Yelgrun's lip curled. "Ferengi," he spat.

"I know, I know. You hate us." _No surprise from me,_ Keevan sent her with a smirk, which faded when Yelgrun turned his verbal taunt onto him.

"You most of all, Keevan the traitor. Trading your unit's lives for your own -"

"And this one with me," Keevan answered, but beneath the calm exterior, she saw he was threatening to crumble.

"- and I always knew you were nothing. You're a disgrace to the Dominion, just like you were a disgrace to me a long time ago. You're not even good at making impressions. I don't even know what your woman sees in you that I didn't," he seethed, boldly making eye contact with Annora before Gaila barked at him to move. However, as Yelgrun was led away, she felt her brain on the move again as the words instantly sunk in.

 _Keevan...what is he talking about, what I see in you that he didn't?_ It sounded like something that he and Yelgrun used to...

Her train of thought was cut off when Keevan interrupted it. _It's nothing._ "You also said I would always be alone, never find a mate to share my life with," he sneered, taking Annora and holding her close to him. She allowed him to hold her despite her doubts. "You said I would know your pain, and I hate to disappoint you, but I found her. And we're having a child." He gave the furious Yelgrun a triumphant smirk when he lifted his hand up and put it once more over Annora's stomach.

He was lying, and she knew it. Was this what their relationship was, secrets now? _What is it you're not telling me?_ she asked suspiciously, but he wouldn't let her in.

 _Annora, I'm not lying to you, not entirely. But we should get out of here first, and I promise I owe you the entire story then._ She would accept that, but he would tell her _everything,_ not leave out a single detail. The Ferengi had their mother back, they would get their reward, they had a new Vorta prisoner - and a past he had with _her_ Keevan - and now the lovers themselves were ready to get the hell out of dodge and head anywhere they wanted. For all it was worth, they deserved this.

 **So there's finally an explanation between the hinted rivalry between Keevan and Yelgrun. :) It was inspired by this beautiful long oneshot that isn't on this website, which was my first Weyoun fanfic I picked up before I became a member - and my intro to Keevan before I found him on the show - and I fell in LOVE with it right away. (sighs dreamily) It's called "Immortal Beloved" by Rose of the Vortaphiles, on this website called Tripod. Anyways, it's where Weyoun and Keevan meet and fall in love, marry, but then the war comes and parts them for the events that follow, "Magnificent Ferengi" was tweaked just like I did, and Yelgrun did worse to Keevan in that story than just what is in here. I never wanted to go THAT far with them in here as "Immortal Beloved" did, but it was perfect help. :) I believe I mentioned this story early on, but I never said the name, so there you go.**

 **Add in that the comparison to the Battle of Prexnak was none other than the infamous Roman 300 battle. :)**


	25. Saved for a Rainy Day

**My apologies for keeping everyone waiting. I was ill the last few days and also recently published a new oneshot slash fic of Weyoun/Keevan. I also just watched "Change of Heart", episode sixteen of season 6. :D It was Worf and Jadzia's episode, but it was perfect inspiration since it was HARD for me to brainstorm what Keevan and Annora would be up for for two more months to come.**

 **The first time we saw these two was at the end of "Weyoun and Mia: His Enemy's Daughter". I still recommend reading that story if no one has. Anyways, the newly married Weyoun and Mia are reunited with our current couple on their wedding night, but a lot of questions were raised. Annora had told her old friend that she'd been stationed on DS9, but we don't know whether or not she was telling the truth. And Keevan was with her. :D**

Chapter Twenty-Four

Saved for a Rainy Day

Ishka could not stop telling her family how proud she was of them, Gaila and Leck were still aiming their phasers at Yelgrun, and Keevan was behind them with Annora since they were no longer prisoners, but he sensed how distant she was, and he knew why. She was persistent and desiring - not in the pleasant sense - to know what the meaning was behind Yelgrun's words. He longed to tell her, but feared her disgust. But it wasn't like he and Yelgrun actually went _that_ far in that heated moment, those cruel words in the end remaining etched in Keevan's psyche and dampening his self-esteem.

Yelgrun did not utter a word, just glowered viciously at all of them and slouched down with phasers aimed at him while Brunt assumed control of his own ship. "You two better enjoy this last ride while it lasts," Quark told Keevan and his lover before they ducked through the bunk. "We're stopping at Starfleet Command to hand the tiresome Vorta to them, then we head to Ferenginar to return Moogie and collect the reward."

His mind beeped with an idea of asking their Grand Nagus for a ship for himself and Annora. "Would your Nagus be so kind to offer us a ship?"

Quark was about to answer when his mother heard the question and called over. "Zekkie would be kind enough once I speak to him - but he'll ask for the thumbprint of one of you, or two strips of latinum," she added, face falling a little. "That's the Ferengi way."

"I'll offer it," Annora said easily. "With what little I brought with me." She looked up at Keevan and smiled, and he returned it. He tore his eyes away from her when Yelgrun drawled at them both.

"What's this going to be now, Keevan? A lover's getaway? The Dominion will catch up to you sooner or later. You ought to know nothing today is free from Jem'Hadar seeing you and opening fire when they notice you're not one of them." He smirked to one corner of his mouth. "And haven't you told your woman about us yet?"

He and Yelgrun had not spoken ever since the war began; before then, he and his former mentor before Weyoun were on cool terms, formal and barely speaking until Captain Sisko began to mine the wormhole entrance, leading to the start of the explosion. Now here they were, and Yelgrun was taken hostage while Keevan was free, and proving him wrong with Annora beside him. Keevan's lip curled. "Bite your tongue, Yelgrun. You and I were NEVER together. You're foul and spineless. _You_ were the one who betrayed our trust, not _me_. And I am no traitor; I came to life and saw the picture. The Founders are not gods as you believe they are, but you won't accept it as easily." Yelgrun's face creased with rage lines, his eyes darkening to a maddening stormy grey at the blasphemy. "Perhaps the sooner you realize it while you're a Federation prisoner of war as I had been, the better off you'll be." He turned to Annora and motioned for her to go into the bunk first. Now he could breathe a sigh of relief and rejoice they were alive.

Annora was sitting in the low chair again while he took the bunk once more, tired after the ordeal, and he could see she was, too, but now that they were alone, she looked at him through heavy-lidded but darkened eyes. He knew what that look meant precisely. "You owe me the whole story now," she said, not smiling. "I understand you and Yelgrun outside have quite a history together, but the fact you exploited you and he -"

He cut her off. "Yes, but it's not what you think, as I've said. When my first incarnation was activated, I was presented to Yelgrun, who was in incarnation number four at the time. He's just as old as Weyoun is, remarkably so as it's rare for clones to be in the same lifetime for any reason. While I was under his tutelage, he wasn't like Borath, the scientist who oversees the cloning process and regards me one of his most cherished, or like Weyoun whom I revere as the best instructor and partner I had besides Eris. Yelgrun was worse than any of the others, never patient as you saw for yourself, and there were few times and far between that he ever called me gifted and devious, a common trait in Vorta." He paused there and raised a hand to elevate his head from the small bed against the wall, pursing his lips.

"Unfortunately, I was young and still new, so I'd had high hopes we'd have a great working relationship. All Vorta are required for such. But Yelgrun was beyond tolerance with the characteristics I told you." He sighed and shook his head. Annora hadn't once interrupted him, graciously, but he saw that she hated Yelgrun as much as he did. "But it all reached the breaking point when he began to...look at me in a way that I was familiar with receiving from others, before it was you and I."

She swallowed hard, the bob in her throat showing visibly, but she was unable to speak. "He confronted me one night," Keevan went on, "when it was too much, and he tried to have me beyond our relationship as it was, although I didn't want him that way. He lost it then and forcibly kissed me, poured out his desires and hatred for me rejecting him when he thought I would be his salvation for living alone most of his life, no mate to share his life with, and he tried to..." He couldn't finish; the memory of it was the starting point of what had been taken to fruition by those Cardassians - he immediately blocked that last part from her, but her reaction to what Yelgrun tried to do to him was expected.

Annora jolted up in her seat; from where he was, he could hear her heart beating a thousand times faster than he would make it. "Did he?" she asked slowly, horrified and bordering on venom if Yelgrun DID...

"No," he said quickly, his head shaking brusquely. "I managed to shout for help, and security pulled me away from him. Normally, a Vorta on another rare occasion would be executed and permanently terminated at a senseless act such as that, but Yelgrun was one of the Dominion's best if not well-liked agents. The Founders gave him one last chance to redeem himself. But I never spoke or saw him again except for a few times after, and nothing was the same between us as it had been in the beginning. I could never forget the words he said to me as I left him that night."

"What did he say?"

That question should never have been asked, but it had been. But Annora couldn't have known sooner. Keevan swallowed as he whispered from memory. "Beloved, Vorta _never_ forget anything, from our own memories and of others. He said, and I quote, 'I took you in and you thank me this way. You can go about your business and serving the Dominion as faithfully as I do, but you will always be a pretty little face with nothing from the inside to give back. You will always be alone as I am, even if you do manage to feel something for another and they don't return it to you. When that day comes, you'll feel the same pain that I do. You'll _NEVER_ be happier than you are giving your life for the Founders." He almost let the tears come, but he held it in as he reminded himself that was the past. He wasn't going to die alone, not now and not ever. Yelgrun had been wrong; he meant to bruise Keevan's feelings and break his heart, but now this wonderful human woman was in front of him and bearing his child. He was happier than he had been then.

Annora had stood from her seat and walked over, kneeling in front of him and running her fingers along the side of his face. He sighed and closed his eyes, turning his face into her palm and kissing her sweet skin. _My darling,_ he sent, _I'm blessed you are here. You're my entire life, more than anything in the universe - more than the Dominion ever was._ He would never get tired of telling her that.

~o~

She bowed her head forward so their foreheads touched. So she'd worried for nothing - or perhaps half of it. But overall, she was overwhelmed with pure, unquenchable anger and hatred for Yelgrun with the lack of the right word of choice, for what he did to Keevan and _tried_ to do. How dare he break Keevan down that way and hurt his heart that way?! If only she could do what she did to Gaila with his ear, but not just one - BOTH of them. Vorta and Ferengi ears were not so different in the department of comparison to vulnerability.

Keevan read her mind and laughed. "I'd love to see you do that, but he needs to be handed to Starfleet unharmed," he reminded her. "And besides, a Vorta can't survive without a good ear or two." She almost burst out laughing; sounded like a hell of a great dream to imagine. She could also imagine like a human male getting kicked downstairs, the pain being the same as Ferengi and Vorta ears maimed.

All of it beside the point, Yelgrun hurting her love made her love Keevan even more now.

There was a knock that made them both look up. "Uncle Quark said to tell you both we're approaching Starfleet Command in another three hours, and you both remain here in the ship if neither of you want to be seen," Nog told them. Seeing them in the position they were in, he shook his head and laughed. "What are you guys going to do once we finish business?"

"I really don't know, Nog," Annora answered, sitting on the floor and placing her back against the side of the bed like she did while Keevan had been wounded. "We have to live away from the Dominion even though it's not easy. I want to bring our child up someplace far from them, and someplace where we won't be separated." She jerked her head backwards in emphasis for Keevan behind her. "I left Starbase 375 without my uncle's permission, risking my career and reputation for Keevan, Nog. If I see Uncle Bill again, he won't be the least bit happy with me. No one would look at me the same way again -"

"And they'll never accept me," Keevan finished for her. She looked over her shoulder to see his arm lowered, used as a pillow for his head to rest.

Nog nodded, lips tightening. "Wish you guys would be on Ferenginar. Moogie and the Nagus could use some extra company. Captain Sisko would have taken you guys in, but it'd take more convincing to not speak to Admiral Ross."

Annora snorted. Possibilities of getting back to her uncle since they worked together. "You're right, Nog. But even though things are bleak as of now, I see the light coming out in the end." Even to her own ears, it sounded like something poetic. Keevan's hand came up behind her and massaged her scalp, at the same time running his fingers through her hair. She sighed and leaned into his caresses; seeing this, Nog took this as his sign to leave the couple alone and return to the bridge.

They were at Starfleet Command Center in no time. She stayed behind with Keevan with no need for a guard except for Ishka coming in while her sons and the others took Yelgrun inside. _It could be the last time I ever see him, but I wouldn't bet my hopes too high,_ Keevan sent smugly. _At least it makes me smile to know he's in a cell against his will, unlike myself._

"My boys were just telling me you were having a baby," Ishka said from the doorway. She was really sweet and smiling at them both; she must have formed a brief friendship with Yelgrun as short as it was, but that creature was locked up now. "My congratulations to such a young couple."

Annora had taken her place back across the bed for a brief nap until they came to their destination. She looked up at the older Ferengi woman and smiled. "Well, we could use some congratulations from you. It means everything." Ishka _tsked_ and walked further in until she sat down on the foot of the chair, looking down at Annora.

"My grandson talks about you sometimes. He says you're a real bender, much like myself. I even read some of your stories, including your last book. But it's a shame not everyone favorited it as an interesting psychological subject - except we Ferengi are more interested in profit," she added, looking over at Keevan and seeing his slightly piqued expression. "But how about you...Keevan, is it?"

"That's correct."

"Yelgrun didn't seem to like you very much."

"Without going into many detail," he answered calmly and politely, "we have an 'interesting' history, but not a pretty one. I betrayed my people and my Jem'Hadar unit for another chance to live - and to save this woman here." He nodded and smiled at Annora. "She and the baby are my reasons to live."

Ishka laughed gently and stood to walk over to him, leaning down over the space between him and the overhead bunk. "Family is important, and it's not everyday you get lucky the way you did. I wasn't that way when I married Quark and Rom's father; he was a good husband and father but an incompetent fool who never listened to my advice and Quark would always take his side no matter what. But Rom..." She sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Rom is a good boy. He's got a good heart and a good woman, and a son he's proud of. Doing better than Quark, honestly, in that department."

Annora laughed with her, Keevan too, before it died down instantly the moment the woman's words about her son made her worry about the little one in her womb. What if she and Keevan wouldn't be good parents? What if it would grow up hating them for anything and eventually got away for good, like she did with her own parents? So many what ifs, and the possibility of it all ending disastrously...

Perhaps she should have closed her mind from Keevan, because she saw he was beginning to worry as much as she was. _All of that is what I fear, too._ He looked up at Ishka and decided to speak for the both of them. "My love and I both have no experience with raising young ones, Ishka. We both fear we will be...terrible, based on your experiences. And Annora hasn't had the greatest of experiences with her own family." He was so good keeping his exterior composed despite the worry, but Ishka was smiling down at him still.

"Being a mother and father is never easy business. Nothing ever is, but it's a privilege earned. It's also a blessing. It's not an always available opportunity. And it won't be so bad if you work hard to make it right, no matter how difficult it was with your own parents." She had been darting her eyes back and forth between them, now they landed on Keevan. "Are you going to propose marriage anytime soon to the lady?"

~o~

 _"No, actually, she just lost her husband, and we just got back together. We are having a baby now, and currently we're on the run - in a way. I don't think marriage is possible as of now."_

He remembered those words he'd told Ishka when she questioned him about proposing to Annora, right in front of her. Annora had been speechless when the Ferengi woman boldly asked in front of her. "I'm not in a hurry," she'd said. "Keevan's right. And there's too much of the unknown ahead of us in the middle of a war to think about something so..." She'd stopped then, but Ishka picked up with a single word.

"Wonderful."

Now here they were, hours later, arriving at Ferenginar. The homeworld of the Ferengi. Keevan could hardly contain his "delight" when he and Annora stepped out from Brunt's ship after the others rushed out and began to dance around in the rain, happily and proudly at being home as they cheered about back at Empok Nor, this time with their female safe and sound. Nog and his father and uncle had apparently been away long enough, Gaila in prison and Brunt banished before, but Leck had been away only a short amount of time from his gatherings. But they were all here now.

And here he was standing on a new system he had never been on in the Alpha Quadrant before. The Ferengi were obnoxious, but unless something gave the Dominion a reason to align or deal with them, then Ferenginar would have been a new consideration to conquer, but first the surrounding systems of Irtok and Clarus would have to be dealt with. The planet's sky was detailed to be stormy and the landscape riddled with mud and moisture, filthy rivers and a damp atmosphere. The smell actually wasn't disgusting, by any means. It smelled very fresh, and pleasantly so. A nice contrast to the climate.

"Oh, it's good to be back!" Gaila howled happily and allowed himself to slip and fall into the muddy ground, letting himself become soaked. It was deemed inappropriate in his aunt Ishka's eye, but she eventually gave in and laughed as all of the boys joined in. However, Keevan and Annora stood off to the side and watched the group, getting their clothes, skin and hair dampened by the rainfall. He couldn't care less about himself but looked over to Annora. His breath caught in his throat when the water drenched her soft hair, made her gray turtleneck darker than it was but showed nothing underneath, and brought her skin to a shine despite the gloom. She was looking at him in the same way, smirking.

"This is like one of my favorite love stories when I was younger," she said. "Two people in the rain." Sans the excited Ferengi in the rain and the mud behind them. It felt like there was nothing but the two of them and her mouth parted to breathe on. "Good things come to those who wait, like my mother said. One of the few words of advice I took from her to heart." She placed her hands on either side of his face and brought him down to kiss her.

 **Chapter was worth the wait, I hope. :) Next chapter gets better.**


	26. The Perfect Celebration

Chapter Twenty-Five

The Perfect Celebration

His hair was matting to his head, his clothes clinging to his body and the smell of dampness getting to his nostrils, but Keevan didn't care in the slightest as he continued to kiss Annora, wrapping his arms around her waist and bringing her closer. If only the Ferengi weren't present and he could have prolonged this moment longer...

"Excuse me, you two can finish when we get to the house!" Quark called over to them as they made way for the small, domed structure ahead of them. _He's right; we can finish when we're alone,_ Annora sent with a devious wink to him. _I love being in the rain._

 _I never thought you would,_ Keevan returned, but he'd known her to be adventurous.

 _No boundaries, remember? Free spirit,_ she teased, hooking her fingers with his as they held hands the rest of the walk "home". He felt exhausted to his bones, and could see she was, too, and the others. They might as well spend the night here and then move on with their lives. They were alive, but the fight was still far from over.

"Moogie, would you like us to stay the night here?" Rom was asking his mother as they all "dusted" themselves off. "Nog and I share a room, Quark can have his, but what about the rest of them?" He gestured everyone else in the room, which Ishka regarded all with another smile, except for Brunt, of course.

"Yes, you all can stay here, unless some of you have a better place to be." Her eyes hardened notably on Brunt, who held up his hands in faux surrender.

"No minding me, Ishka. I'll be taking my leave to my old place until the morning when we visit the Nagus - but could you please take off all of those clothes now that we are all alive?" He looked her over in disgust before marching out the front door to take his leave. Ishka scoffed and waved her hand at him before whipping around when Quark had the nerve to agree.

"Yeah, Moogie, he's right."

"Don't you start with me on that now, Quark."

Ferengi females were restricted to being dressed and earning latinum; now he and Annora were seeing the debate between mother and son, starting with the former Liquidator who might get his job back. He'd tried to dethrone the current Nagus, Zek, and take his place, but it was no surprise Brunt would try to swindle his way back in. Keevan's ears picked up Leck announcing he had a place of his own and would meet up with them again in the morning as well, but Gaila, having gotten out of jail, had no place to go, and Ishka allowed him to have one of the two guest rooms before turning to Keevan and Annora.

"You both can have the remaining guest room. If any of you need anything, just let me know," she told them sweetly before everyone parted ways for their separate rooms.

It was hard to believe he and Annora were actually in a real room with a real bed to sleep in - and perhaps real food, even if it was Ferengi cuisine, involving insects. Keevan wouldn't mind since he wouldn't savor the flavor, but Annora wouldn't be able to stand it. "Well, _what_ would you handle?" he asked her as he sat down on the foot of the bed to take his boots off. He looked up when she tore off her shirt, leaving herself in the very same one he remembered from their time on that planet, surrounded by his white-deprived Jem'Hadar. Now that he remembered that, it seemed like a long time ago, much longer than two months.

"I would probably starve myself off and find whatever fresh greens there are," she answered. "But at least I brought rations with me, more than enough to last five months. By that time, I'll be seven months along." Her tone was joking, but she meant to be serious. "But I'll also be tired of rations, even though there were a few times I spend that long in the field for a story, and nothing changed."

Keevan chuckled; he was unclasping his jacket and standing to walk over to the closet to his right. Pressing the button, the door whooshed open and revealed hangers for him and her. Perfect for their clothes to dry overnight. And that also meant...

"Stop your thinking right there," Annora told him, smirking to one corner. She had removed her undershirt and left herself in her bra. He hadn't seen her in so long, and his groin tightened with his still-damp pants. _You're not too tired for our first night together again, are you?_ he sent to her, making her laugh and walk over to the still-opened closet to hang both her shirts up. When her back turned to him, Keevan allowed his eyes to fall to her tight, round rear end. "That goes for that, too."

Keevan laughed and fell back onto the bed. "I can never help myself."

"You Vorta are too irresistible, and you can never resist your mischief," she returned, turning around as she knelt down and worked on her boots. "We have a saying that involves a cold shower."

"And we haven't been together this way since we separated."

" _And_ I'm two months pregnant," she reminded him.

He stopped himself there. It now had him wondering if it was safe for them to make love while she was with child. If there were any Ferengi physicians around, he'd love nothing more than to ask one's opinion - "Ferengi doctors charge latinum strips, from what I heard," she interrupted, her pants falling and showing the rest of her undergarments. "I'm not wasting money on just asking a single question or two about sexual intercourse during pregnancy. My mother was still pregnant when she and my father did it. I'm still here."

Keevan swallowed; that tidbit of information was not something he expected to hear since Annora and her parents were never close. That voice inside his head still wondered if this was a good idea; no matter his doubts about the father, that child was life and a part of Annora. "Then will you come to bed with me?" he asked, raising both eyebrows and smiling, revealing his teeth. "Still soaked to the skin, naked and alone, the lights off and the rain pouring..."

She had taken off her bra and thrown it at him; the fabric landed on his face, and her hysterical giggles filled his ears. She was playful as he was, but never did he think she'd do _this_. He looked up but didn't see her body when something else landed on him, this time his lap. The last of her undergarments were removed, but he dropped them to the floor to pay more attention to his lover and her naked beauty. The pressure in his groin was unbearable that he stood up and shoved the tight trousers down, kicking them to the side, exposing his heated want and breathing fresh air. He sighed and just stood there for a moment before shrugging his shirt over his head so he was naked, too. Annora laughed and walked over to him after closing the closet door, putting her hand to his chest and pushing him. He fell backwards onto the bed, his arms holding her body to his, the two of them rolling over onto their sides and facing each other.

They were kissing again, hungrily and exploring each other's mouths. Keevan's hand trailed down her side and caressing her hip, humming against her mouth as he brought her closer to him. Her body heat sizzled with his, the remaining rainwater on their skins drying now. However, disappointingly, the heated moment ended when she broke it off to ask him, "Did you mean it when you weren't ready to get married?"

His brows furrowed when he looked into her eyes. "I thought you wouldn't want to. I meant every word I said, the reason I gave Ishka; you were there. You even told me once yourself that you rushed so soon that one time..."

"That was when I was still at the academy," she interrupted, slightly agitated and moving away from him, sitting up and on her thighs, still looking down at him. "And I wasn't pregnant then, either. And never in the middle of a war as horrid as this one."

Keevan lay on his side, facing her halfway, hand elevating the side of his head so he could gaze up at her. "I'm sorry," was all he could say. What else could there be? He wanted them both happy, but how could they bring a union in at a time when they needed to find a safe place to live without getting killed by Jem'Hadar patrol ships out there? "I _do_ want us to be married, but..."

"But is this happening too fast like the first time?" Annora finished for him, raising an eyebrow at him and waiting for his answer. "We just got back together, I'm having a baby, there's a danger zone at every corner, and then a Ferengi woman asks us if we are going to tie the knot. And you don't know how to answer to this."

How could she and WHY was she asking at a time like this? Keevan sighed and shook his head. "Because I love you enough to know that we're taking a slow time readjusting. I have no idea what to do for our family since I am a Vorta, and whoever else out there will not accept me so easily once they learn where I came from. That's the truth. Even if we end up on a jungle of a system, we'd have to live like primitive times, hunting. And we are both built for more sophisticated business than shopkeepers, waiters and waitresses and anything low-key." He reached out to take her hand which was resting on her bare leg, wrapping his fingers around it tenderly. "Annora, I don't want either of us to worry too much right now."

She was softening now, smiling again. "Alright, I'm sorry." She shifted positions so her body straddled his. Keevan chuckled and laid on his back, accepting another kiss from her. "I shouldn't have asked you at this time. This was one of the problems Jeffrey and I had sometimes. Talking, questions, I can go on. I don't want us to have that issue." He didn't want to hear that man's name anymore, because Jeffrey O'Neal had been an obstacle enough and he was not here anymore. He allowed her to see this, and it made her stiffen with shock. Chuckling, Keevan reassured her she was safe by kissing her shoulder before switching their positions so he could be the one on top of her.

"I'll be gentle," he promised before leaning down to kiss each of her beautiful breasts, starting at the tops before moving downwards to take each nipple into his mouth. He then shifted his hips and entered her, her inner muscles welcoming him and closing around him as soon as he returned home, where he belonged.

He remembered going right to sleep with her in his arms, and it was more than he asked for. Having Annora in his embrace again this way and in a comfortable bed instead of in a cave on a rock, on a separate chair from the bunk, or apart fully while he was in a cell. The room was dark, but he could feel her as he held her underneath the covers, his senses piercing through the walls and hearing the continual pouring of the rain. Serene, calm, nothing to interfere with this peaceful environment. Keevan sighed as he reawakened and held her close, his arm around her waist. His nose buried into her hair and smelled her scent, then sighed after pressing a kiss to her shoulder. He didn't want the night to be over, but then he was suddenly overwhelmed with an insatiable thirst that he felt he would have trouble going back to sleep.

When he let Annora go as he slipped out of bed, the warmth faded as quickly as it came. Seeing as he could not wander about this place nude, he searched the closet until he found a single robe, and wrapped it around himself before pressing the button of the doors for them to open, and he stepped out into a lighter gloom that his weak eyesight couldn't register much. Nevertheless, he found his way around the house without knocking anything over and came to the kitchen.

He saw various colored drinks in vials and bottles, but he wasn't sure which one was which, so he randomly selected one because he was so thirsty. Holding the small bottle in one hand, he started for the table -

\- only for the lights to come on, and a voice nearly startled him. "An alcoholic beverage at one hundred and thirty hours?" Ishka asked, staring agape before breaking out into laughter. "That's a first. My boys used to be up in the middle of the night with some mischief of their own, but nothing like this." She was wearing a night robe herself, taking a seat at the table first while still looking at him. Seeing that Keevan was still standing and staring down at her, she laughed again and gestured for him to sit. "Did something wake you, Keevan?"

"Just an obnoxious, insane thirst," he answered, sitting down. "But I'm afraid I don't know what this is," he added with a nervous chuckle as he set the bottle in between the two of them. Ishka picked it up and inspected it even though she already knew what it was.

"Why, it's one of Quark's best he includes at that bar of his on Deep Space 9. A Starduster. Passionate fruits from Earth being blended together with alcohol. It's very delicious, if I may say so. You'd like it."

He found it difficult to return the smile. "I'll take your word, but I'm afraid I won't be able to enjoy the taste of it other than the texture. And the alcohol won't have an effect on me." Her eyes were wide, her jaw slightly parted in shock. He finally smiled back, but without humor. "Vorta have limited taste to only nuts and berries, and our natural immunity to most forms of toxins prevents alcohol from taking effect. It's how we were made to be."

Ishka's mouth slowly closed as understanding and sympathy filled her entire face. "Genetically made, no will of your own, restrictions - it's just as bad as all of the women in Ferengi society not allowed to speak to strangers, wear clothes or earn profit." She huffed and put the bottle of Starduster down. "But I never thought one of your own kind would actually leave the Dominion the way you did."

Keevan shook his head and leaned back, folding his arms across his chest. "I didn't just leave the Dominion. It all began when I first met Annora."

"Oh, was she captured?"

"In a manner, yes," Keevan answered with a little smile that seemed to chill her as she became infatuated with the start of the story. "We were both on assignment that day. However, Annora has always been the rebel you've met, choosing to leave without permission of her uncle, one Starfleet Admiral William Ross, to get the story on the destruction of the main ketracel-white storage facility in Cardassian space. I was present when she came along; I had her beamed aboard my ship as soon as I learned who she was and why she was there, but at the time, in the interest of the Dominion and our Cardassian alliance, I had to bring her in with me.

"However, her uncle caught on and had sent a rescue force, but it was no match for the Jem'Hadar assault by my own vessel. Unfortunately, my ship was damaged in the attack that we had to land on the nearest planet there was in the system - and that is where an uncharted dark-matter nebula comes in. Behind the nebula was a desert planet where the ship crashed, my Jem'Hadar First and Second died, and I was wounded. Our communication system had yet to be repaired, and I believe I'd be dead if Annora wasn't there to take care of me despite our despise for each other."

"Oh, I can imagine," Ishka said, taking a few visible breaths. "The two of you who hated each other at first and then stranded with a bunch of reptilian monsters on a deserted planet, but it makes me wonder how you ended up the way you are now." Her eyes were shining as brightly as her smile.

Keevan returned the smile when he returned to the memory of the best day of his life, leaning his head back so he looked at the ceiling. "The moment I saw her for the first time, she was feisty and spirited; she never once backed down, fought back. She was...beautiful. I could feel it most of all from her besides just seeing it, naturally so." He shook his head. "My people lack the ability to appreciate aesthetics, which I question from time to time, and I wouldn't be surprised if any others besides Weyoun, my most cherished friend and former mentor, did the same. Some of them choose not to speak it aloud, and we are certainly forbidden from questioning the Founders about the subject." He felt his insides swell with rage and hatred; everything about his people had been taken from them.

"That's borderline cruel, perhaps more!" Ishka exclaimed, slapping her palms flat on the table surface. "But did she get you to see all of that yourself - the truth, I mean - or did you figure it out for yourself?"

He frowned; he hadn't expected that question, or perhaps he should have. "Both, I suppose. All I know is that laying in that cave, dying but being treated by the strongest woman I'd ever met save for others I've known since my first incarnation - my eyes opened. Because gods should never despise their children and treat them with such cruelty. We're expected to take our own lives, too, when captured. I gave myself up willingly to Captain Sisko and his crew when they landed near us - you must know the story from your grandson, given he was there - but I would not give the Founders the satisfaction of activating my termination implant -" She interrupted him there, eyes wide to the point of bursting from their sockets.

" _Termination_ implant?!" Her voice had risen so high she almost woke any of her sons, perhaps Annora, so she quickly lowered it. "I'm sorry; carry on."

"I lived because of Annora," he answered calmly, "and the baby. They are my reasons. We were parted for two months, but it was still for so long. I survived imprisonment in Starfleet detention, but I suffered because the woman I loved who was expecting my child was kept away from me, because of her husband she made the mistake of marrying in the first place was one of her shackles. And there would be no way anyone around her would accept us together, which anyone could see was hopeless: she's a human and I am a Vorta. She belongs to the Federation, and I from the Dominion."

"But you left for her," Ishka pointed out.

"And I had done the first step leaving my people," he agreed. "But now we have no idea where to go with a war killing millions of people, both soldier and civilian alike. All we have is our love and a new addition we fear we can't take care of."

She scoffed and waved her hand at him. "Oh, hush now, I thought I drilled that into you and your girl. After everything you two have been through, I think you deserve a little something from me after what _we've_ been through recently," she said. With that, she stood and left him where he was, ducking through the low ceiling and being gone for some time. Now Keevan could open up that bottle of Starduster and take a swig without a care, screwing the top back on in time for Ishka to come back, both hands in both pockets of her robe.

"I said enough about my late husband, Keldar, on Brunt's ship, but I haven't said everything," she said as she sat down, straight-backed and her hands still in her pockets. Keevan was impressed. "I wasn't like all the women of this society, one of them being that I never would chew Quark's tube grubs for him as well as talking to strangers. That last one is a rule for us, but -" She huffed and removed her hands from her pockets now, folding them across her chest and lifting her chin up in defiance. "- this is my house, and I can talk to anyone I want to. Quark hated me for being different from other Ferengi females, always being beside his father who was the true disgrace to this family. He didn't understand that our family's financial disputes were because of Keldar, and his father would always stubbornly refuse any advice from me. The fool - _I_ knew better than he ever did, and it went on until he died four years ago."

He got the picture that family was trouble, that family was also about financial support, but the Vorta never cared about latinum. He looked up at the wizened face of this Ferengi woman whose wisdom he accepted even though they didn't know each other personally, and her unusual kindness was mildly unsettling. He saw why Rom looked up to his own mother more than his brother. It settled in: Rom was like his father in the fool's department, and Quark was like his mother in the business department despite the obvious hostility. Ishka smiled when he voiced the thought to her.

"You've never been more correct, Keevan. However a fool Keldar was, he was a good man for his family. Something Rom also takes after him, like I told you. A good heart without the lobes for business. No such a thing as leaving no matter your problems." Her eyes glittered as she searched his face. "I see you're starting to understand family a little more." Her face fell before he could reply that he was - if only a little. "It saddens me that clones don't have parents and brothers and sisters."

"Our progenitors had families, but not all of us remember them," Keevan told her sadly, looking down. "The Founders do a fine job to keep most of them suppressed, and very few remember and live."

She _tsked_ again, then raised a hand and beckoned him to walk around the table to her. "Well, that's changed for you and Annora. This is what I am giving to you so you can give it to her."

Keevan stood up, his nerves on fire with excitement when he arose and strode around, kneeling in front of her in time for her to open her closed hand to show what looked like - "Is it a ring?" he asked softly. He looked back up at her when she chuckled.

"It was given to me by Keldar on our fifth anniversary, as a gift." He tilted his head to the side, a sign for her to urge on. "It's Terran, and something very rare and exquisite you don't see all the time, and it's also one of these things which makes it special enough for a profit. But for anyone else who doesn't look at the price of latinum, it holds a very special meaning. Two of the most prized gemstones - the purple amethyst and the violet-blue tanzanite, the latter which is rarer than diamonds - paired together as a symbol of love. Two combined for extra strength."

He tore his eyes away from her and the ring, tilting his head down as the message absorbed into his heart and memory. Two different shades of purple shining bright like they desired each other, just as he and Annora were from two different sides and harmonized as one...his breath had been taken away. "Ishka, I desire nothing more than to accept this, but -" His voice failed him, and her hand came up to cup his chin, raising his eyes to hers again.

"Keevan, there might never be a right time for you to seize this opportunity once you and her leave Ferenginar to wherever else is out there. I spent days in a Dominion cell and probably would have remained there and died if my boys didn't come for me - if Zekkie hadn't gotten them to do it for us. You might lose Annora before you take her as your wife, and vice versa if she loses you. What good would that do for her and your little one? Sooner is better than later, believe me, if you know you want to make her happy. I've seen the way you looked at her; Annora happy makes you happy, too. You might be a Vorta and she a human, but you are made for each other, like this ring."

~o~

She'd slept in a warm bed before, shared one for barely five years with a man she never loved, and the events of the previous day had rendered her desiring one. She'd gotten her wish, but this time it wasn't alone. It was with the man she loved who was now free. She'd slept in his arms, and there were no wonderful words to do it justice.

Keevan's arms around her had helped her sleep better than she had in a long time; their lovemaking had been so wonderful, but at the same time, she wondered if it was still a good idea now that a baby was along two months. A miscarriage in the first trimester was bound to happen, but mostly that was due to stress and high-level anxieties. A couple years after Annora had been born, Eleanor Ross suffered a miscarriage, and a few years later, a stillbirth of another daughter. But none of that involved intercourse during pregnancy. And nothing was ever set in stone. Perhaps she ought to talk to Keevan about holding off on making love until the baby was born, just to be safe.

Opening her eyes, Annora rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling as she stretched her limbs. There was the sound of vibrations through the opened door to her left; Keevan must be in the sonic shower. His side of the bed was empty but still warm. She needed a cleanup herself. Smirking, she slipped out of the bed and strolled into the bathroom, where she saw the outlined silhouette of her lover behind the swirls of blue.

"No element of surprise needed."

She slipped inside, seeing his whole bare back and buttocks, glistening with water droplets which rolled down and slid off, but not even a twitch in her body this time. "You seem to be in a good mood today," she said, stepping close behind him and kissing behind his shoulder. He sighed and turned around to face her, his lips twitching.

"So are you," he returned, eyes languid and smoldering like the darkest waters, melting her with their intensity than the vibrating shower. He leaned over and kissed her before they were both interrupted with a buzz on the door. Annora bolted out quickly and grabbed a towel before going to answer the door - and there stood Ishka. She almost sighed in relief, thanking God that none of the males were here to see her. The Ferengi matriarch stepped in so the door closed behind her.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," Ishka apologized before holding her arm out. "I just wanted to give you one of my dresses to wear today since you probably don't have much with you."

"I do, but I'll accept whatever you brought." The dress was large and a wrap-around, the fabric soft and silky and patterned with blue and black as well as what resembled a golden chain embellishment. She didn't wear dresses much, but - "Oh, it's lovely." She took the dress from Ishka and felt how soft it felt, like rain, beneath her fingers. "Thank you."

"The boys have already gone ahead to the Grand Nagus for the reward, but tonight Zek will be here so we can all have a nice dinner. If you and Keevan would love to stay here and meet the Nagus," Ishka told her sweetly. "It's been a long time since I had the entire family like this - although Brunt won't be allowed, obviously." She spat the name like it was a bad taste. "He's brought enough misery on this family, and the nerve to think he could use my rescue to get himself back in the FCA."

"He sounds like scum, alright," Annora agreed, feeling her lip curl. "Probably gonna die alone, too, for his ways." _Most definitely,_ Keevan sent to her in agreement.

Ishka laughed and threw her head back. "Oh, yes, and speaking of which, I was speaking to your good man last night. He didn't seem like he was ever happy until you two crossed paths. I even told him that you two will never make it together as long as you were both unmarried."

Annora felt like her heart would burst. She had been talking to _Keevan_ about marriage, last NIGHT? A part of her wanted to laugh, but it was serious matters. "Did he also tell you about my late husband before him?"

"Yes, and how you made a mistake marrying that one," the Ferengi woman answered firmly before the beam returned. "But look at how lucky you are the second time around. He might be your second but also your last."

She knew what the woman was talking about. She and Keevan had been through so much together, separated for the majority, and now they had each other. Perhaps if they left now without getting married, maybe they would both end up regretting it sooner or later. She DID want to marry him, but also the right way - but what _was_ the right way? Her first wedding had guests and her uncle, a lovely dress, but she'd been young then. That marriage had a sham of a love that never existed. Now she was older and a little wiser if not middle-age wise. Keevan was the best thing that ever happened to her; he'd changed her life forever.

"You're right," she whispered to Ishka. "You're absolutely right."

~o~

Quark, Nog and Rom already returned to Deep Space 9 after acquiring their parts of the reward, Leck was left to return to his business and Gaila back to search his way to the top again in the world of weapons dealing, and finally Brunt was allowed back into the FCA. But not long before they all spent one last night together at Ishka's house for the Grand Nagus himself to pay a visit.

Keevan never thought he'd say this, but the couple fascinated him. Grand Nagus Zek had allowed himself to become involved with a female who also helped him run the Ferengi Financial Alliance; he obviously loved her for her intelligence and not just her appearance and entire being. Well, what did you expect for an old man who had a share of bad luck in the amorous department? And an older female who had been turned down by her husband their entire marriage but fought back?

Zek turned out to like him and Annora both just as equal, as much as he prized both of Ishka's sons and had just gotten to meeting Nog, the first Ferengi to ever join Starfleet. Nothing he'd hold against the boy, he'd said. Well, anything was possible.

During the whole course of dinner - tube grubs, which made Annora nearly vomit as much as she held it in - Keevan's entire mind was plagued with his and Ishka's conversation the night before, as well as hearing everything she told Annora that morning. He was riddled with nervousness, hiding this from Annora and keeping the ring hidden this entire time. But Ishka was right; sooner was better than later, and who knew how much longer they would remain on Ferenginar before they moved on.

As soon as dinner was over and everyone was about to leave, except for the matriarch herself, Keevan announced that he had something to say. Once everyone's attention was on him, he turned to Annora and reached into his pocket, but not long before taking her hand into his. "Annora, you're the best thing that ever happened to me, and I've waited all my life for you. I love you with all my heart, and I will never abandon or betray you as long as we both live and breathe, even during a time of war which has not affected my decision to ask you this." He then pulled out the ring and slipped it around that finger where her old wedding ring no longer rested. Seeing the beauty now adorning her hand, Annora gasped softly.

"Will you be my wife?" Keevan asked, swallowing and waiting. She didn't answer him, instead looked up and took his face into her hands and kissed him long and passionately. He felt his insides melt and give way, and he was unable to control himself as he laughed and cried with her. The Ferengi behind them cheered them on, even those only interested in profit at the insistence of those who believed in true love - such as Rom.

The wedding was two weeks later. Ishka helped them out with the planning, allowed them to stay with her as long as they wanted, but after the wedding, Annora wanted to leave because they had lives to get back to even if they no longer belonged where they used to. And Ferenginar, as gracious as she was to have stayed here, was not the place for them despite Ishka working on reformation.

Ishka's face had fallen by then. "Oh, well, I understand. But, if you two ever have the need to come back, my door is open," she told them, which Keevan found himself thanking her for, and for everything she did for them. But what could he and his new bride do for her and Zek in return?

They were married under a great tree near one of the mucky rivers, but it wasn't raining, for now. There was minimal flora, the smell of fresh rain lingering, and running water being music to his ears; he didn't call it music exactly, but it was enough for the atmosphere. But all he could think of was himself being dressed all in black without any embellishment, and his bride in front of him, refined and elegant in form-fitting white lace with spaghetti straps and a soft neckline - she told him the details herself later on - and her hair loose and accented with a soft forehead piece accented with pearls, resembling buds on a vine. She was truly stunning, no one was denying him that appreciation on this day. _We're here,_ he sent her through their link, earning a genuine smile in return, before the ceremony began with Grand Nagus Zek doing the honors of performing for them. Quark and the family, sans Brunt, watched on.

"Annora, will you have this man as your mate for life?"

She giggled but otherwise held it together. "I do. For now and forevermore to come."

"And Keevan, will you have this woman as your mate for life?"

"I do. For now and forevermore to come," he swore proudly, finding his eyes lowered briefly to the amber heart she still wore around her neck. _Passion preserved permanently._ He reflected on the words she used so long ago, and how true they were.

"Then by the powers vested in me and the Ferengi Alliance, I now pronounce you man and wife. Keevan, take your wife and give her a -"

He didn't have to listen anymore as he leaned down and kissed his new wife, held her in his arms as laughter and applause rose behind them, in time for the storm clouds to roll over their heads again, which Zek immediately shouted for everyone to make for cover. Keevan was now concerned for his bride's dress, but she only laughed as the first few drops began to pour. "Rain makes things wet and foul - but it also helps things grow," she told him as she looked into his eyes just as the downpour grew in amounts.

 **So, Keevan and Annora are finally married. :D**

 **I'd originally wanted them to get married on another planet they crashed on, but I really have no concept of the planet as of now, and it seemed to make sense because of everything they endured together that they'd want to finally bind before they returned to space and Jem'Hadar fighters. What better place than in front of those they had "fun" with? ;D**

 **I really thought Ishka would be the one to help the couple through this, because what better person in the group than her besides Rom? :) She seemed like she was for the job given how she sort of helped Quark come to his senses about his father in "Family Business", even though circumstances there were different.**

 **Now it begs the question as to what's in store for the bridal pair.**

 **The ring from Ishka to Keevan and finally to Annora was based off the Tanzanite and Amethyst Anniversary ring from Stauer. The story behind it was the inspiration. :)**


	27. Walking on the Wild Side

**One wedding superstition is rain on the big day, the debate still remaining as to whether or not it's good or bad. One story I read was about the symbolism you will see very soon, and nine months from the day this couple was married in which it rained, their daughter was born. How ironic, too, because Annora is pregnant. :)**

Chapter Twenty-Six

Walking on the Wild Side

 _Married...married...MARRIED!_

Her mind was screaming with joy, exploding through their link as they returned to the house. "I'm sorry, but we'll be having some alone time!" she yelled over Keevan's shoulder as he did the honors of carrying her.

"I'll save some dinner for the both of you!" Ishka called back, laughing with Zek, but poor Quark and Gaila had to shake their heads and walk away, and Rom was watching them all dreamy-eyed. His poor son didn't need to know what married couples did in bed, either. Outside, the rain hit like crazy, and at a perfect timing. On Earth, it was said that if it rained on your wedding day, it was a sign of good luck, and also fertility and cleansing. There had been a story in which a couple conceived a child and it was born exactly nine months later. And it was ironic considering Annora herself was two and a half months along in her own pregnancy, but this amazing dress Ishka helped her make made her look like she wasn't.

And Keevan - oh, he was so handsome in all black. She was surprised he even knew what he wanted, for someone who couldn't understand what looked good with what. It didn't matter because it made his beautiful amethyst eyes pop and his pale skin shine brighter. Her angel. She leaned into his neck and kissed him. She was so much happier than she'd been back then. They were finally husband and wife.

"How does it feel to be married?" she asked as soon as the doors closed behind them, and he set her down, smiling from ear to ear.

"It's a joy I have never felt so much in my life," he answered. "I feel like a new man now that you won't be able to get rid of me." His smile twisted deviously as he leaned in and kissed her again, his arms never getting enough of her as he took her into his embrace again. "This is my first and my last, but how is this compared to your first time?"

Annora answered him by returning the kiss and sending to him: _This is more than the first time ever was. It's just you and me, far away from Starfleet even though we're in their space. And few people who won't breathe a word, helped us as we helped them, were there. And on a rainy day of all days, nothing more perfect than that._ He sighed and buried his face into her shoulder and neck space, kissing and then nibbling there, making her jump.

 _Now we're alone, and it's been awhile. It's our wedding night, and I want you so badly I was hurting. You're all mine now, my love._

Two weeks had felt like a long time to go without bed time, and now that he mentioned it, she supposed tonight - their wedding night - wouldn't hurt because Keevan was her new husband. She felt the familiar heat pool below her stomach and pulled him closer to her. _Then take your new wife to bed, you insatiable creature,_ she purred, letting the she-beast inside of her out of its cage, and sensing this, Keevan growled softly as he let her go only to remove his jacket; as soon as it was gone, she ran her hands over his chest even though it was still covered by the smooth black fabric. When she did, she found herself looking down at her brand new wedding ring. It was hard to believe this had been Ishka's from her late husband, the five stones alternating from amethyst to tanzanite to amethyst and on. It felt like her own instead of another's.

"You look daring in black; did I ever tell you that?"

He chuckled and looked her over. "I'll take your word for it. The color seemed appropriate, but all I felt was comfort in it. How about you?" He reached over and pushed both thin straps of her dress down so her shoulders were bared.

"Same, but it feels so much more than my first was. Because this is everything I am." _Simple, understated - anything else to add?_

 _Fierce._ He had been unbuttoning the front of his shirt and exposed his smooth, lightly muscled chest to her eyes, his own darkening like the sun setting over a lagoon. He led her over to the bed and sat down, allowing her to pull his boots off and bare his feet for her hands to briefly massage; a rumble of pleasure escaped his throat, and Keevan closed his eyes. She giggled as she loved his feet as much as a few other places on his body to excite him. He laid back then, letting her finish the job of removing his pants and tossing them on top of the chair where the rest of his clothes lay. Annora turned her back to him and pulled her dress the rest of the way down, tenderly laying it on top of his garments; the headband was removed and placed on the dresser nearby.

 _Annora, are you trying to kill me like this?_ Keevan was trying not to laugh; laughing was a mild insult during this time. She turned back and walked over to her husband, where he lay on his side now and waiting for her. His beautiful body waited for her until she joined him, facing him and running her hand up and down the front and side. No more words spoken aloud except through their link.

 _I love your body._ She moaned when his hands started roaming over her body, too, drawing her closer as though this was their first time again and he wanted to be as gentle with her as he possibly could. She appreciated that; she would have wanted to go into the area of rough if she wasn't pregnant. _You're beautiful, and I never get enough of you._

He moaned and lowered his eyes. Soon she saw the shining streak of a tear roll down his cheek. He was touched so immensely that it made her want to cry, too. _So are you,_ he responded, raising a hand and cupping her cheek as he leaned down to capture her lips once more, bringing her over him as he laid down on his back and allowed her to take the lead. His manhood rubbed gently against her hidden sensitive spot; he shifted so he probed through her pubic hair and found the little round flesh in the middle. She was wet and wanting him, so she quickly but gently helped him insert himself into her. In response, he elevated himself upwards so his chest pressed against her breasts, which he focused his attention on and went to work with what he did best in kissing and licking them, even reaching up with both hands to squeeze and fondle them. He never seemed to get enough of her breasts for himself and how it was one of her most sensitive parts that excited her. _And I never will,_ he told her with a smirk as he looked up.

Annora pushed him down and went on to thrust her hips against his, rendering them both vulnerable to each other, surrendering to each other's rapture, her body arching upwards and her hair falling down her back. Beneath her, Keevan's eyes closed as his mouth parted to let loose a series of moans and wordless cries as his body's desires were too powerful to resist. Annora herself felt like she was in an inferno, lashing backwards with each thrust and in control unlike her first wedding night. She felt her breasts bounce up and down lightly with each movement of her body whilst her husband smiled in their bliss, blessed as she was to have him, forever by her side against whatever challenge lay ahead for them.

~o~

The Grand Nagus gave them a ship to leave on their own by the next morning. The newly married couple said their good byes to him and Ishka, as well as the others, Keevan felt another wash of exhilaration overwhelm his senses as he looked out at the horizon that was the capital of Ferenginar as though it was instead the brave new road ahead of himself and his new bride. It hadn't begun to rain yet, but he wanted them both to leave as soon as possible. He brought nothing with him, but Annora had enough strength for two or three more months to haul her only bag into the ship with her, then Keevan would be the one to do everything for her to keep her activities limited.

Vorta were also skilled engineers and pilots, except for those wholly trained in diplomacy like Weyoun, so Keevan willingly piloted the Ferengi craft himself through the atmosphere of the planet until they reached space, setting a course for anywhere but the surrounding star systems. "Anyplace that's not Dominion-controlled," he told Annora, who sat back and relaxed to enjoy the ride. He chuckled and went back to the controls.

He smiled softly as he occasionally glanced down at the navigator; they were traveling at warp six, which was enough to keep track of any M planets coming up. "We won't be for very long. We'll remain however long we deserve to be. We need the peace." And hopefully there would be no Dominion presence where they landed. But they would be armed with what they had just in case.

"I'd say Risa was the perfect place to live, but it functions as a vacation resort," she said, rubbing her abdomen yet again. "I remember it all like it was yesterday..."

Keevan knew where she was going with this, and he interrupted her sharply. "With him." _I thought we weren't going to talk about HIM anymore,_ he reminded her through their link, warning her with his eyes. She returned it reproachfully.

"Hey, I wasn't even going to mention him, only the experience of one of the most sexually natured planets in the Alpha Quadrant. Paradise, and hell, it's good that there are holosuite programs with it because probably anyone can't go there much with a war going on."

Now that he learned of this, given he'd researched enough about Risa in the past, Keevan did not want his family brought up on a planet open to intimate nature, causing splitting fissures in solid relationships. Vacation, yes. Residence? Absolutely not. Risa was known for its tropical and pristine beauty, but too much of it would mean forgetting the outside dangers that could crash anytime. Annora saw his face and knew what he was thinking. "You don't want to hear anymore," she accused, making him jolt and turn his body all the way around.

"Of course I do, but I'm taking this too personally," he admitted. "What did you experience?"

She softened and went on, dreamy and recalling a very fond memory. "There was never a day where I was bored." She was doing a fine job at keeping the name of her former husband out of both their minds, but it was difficult. "Exploring and spending a day or two in the Temtibi Lagoon, staying there long enough for the night to fall and both moons to shine bright, even feasting on deck with all of the seafood. I _love_ seafood. Once or twice I even nearly fell asleep in one of the steam-pools," she said, laughing, and he joined her. "It was also the gardens with those light-emitting flowers at night that made it memorable. I even enjoyed getting a massage and surrounded with sheer flowing curtains in the sweet breeze..."

Keevan had been so indulged in her story that he nearly fell out of concentration of the navigational warp course. "It's all very satisfying," he said, "but not ideal for starting a family. We'll have everything we ever wanted, but I fear overindulgence. A Vorta can never take too much to heart, and a human even more. You're more vulnerable and susceptible to temptation." He barely contained his snickers when she shot back to him, sitting up and crossing her legs.

"Look who's talking. I tempted you the first time we met, and you turned the tables on me in return." Her bold retort made him burst out laughing, wishing there was something soft to throw at her, like a pillow, just to be playful. They had exchanged their vows only a day ago, and here they were, in space, having a mild debate over where to live and about the sensual Risa. _Welcome to married life._

"You _tempted_ me? Well, I won't deny I played the cards on you, but I would hardly call your natural fire a temptation. That was expected to draw me to you from the beginning. You were - and still are - the irresistible minx I captured aboard my ship." He knew full well his smile was having its addicting effect on her, because now she leaned all the way back until she was laying that way, looking up at him with one arm behind her head for a pillow.

"You also captured my heart."

"And so did you," Keevan breathed when he looked her over for a little longer before returning to the controls.

Hours later, he found a possible source for them. It was class M, some signs of life from his readings, but no telling what they were. "Love, I found our upcoming destination. It's known on the charts. Soukara." He frowned then. Soukara, where had he heard the name before...?

Annora jolted up at the mention of the name. "I know that system. It's not that far away from Cardassian space."

Which meant they were near Dominion-controlled space. That was, if Soukara wasn't occupied already. Keevan breathed a few times to try and calm his heartrate. "We're going down anyway. This is the nearest we've come this far, and it's only outside Dominion space. I hope this is going to be worth it for all of us." For himself, her and the baby. The planet had an asteroid field they could slip through in case there were any sensor arrays, that way they would not be detected. This place was their one hope to start their lives over together, and they'd come a long way.

Soukara was a jungle, and night was alive so the two moons were high in the sky. Keevan brought the ship down and landed near the edge of a mountain base, after scanning for no nearby bases or villages, no technology or cities of any kind. He stood up and picked up his phaser rifle, strapping it around his waist and waiting for Annora while she grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder, following him out.

"Oh, God, it feels so humid," Annora complained as soon as they met with jungle. Keevan's ears twitched as they searched for any rustling of non-humanoid life that could live in the trees or any of the caves. He aimed his weapon at every point; he would not take his chances and let anything devour him and his wife before he could pull the trigger. "So, what do we do?" Annora whispered. "Pitch camp near the ship until morning?"

"Seems that way." They paused in front of a tree where he dropped his phaser beside him and slumped against the trunk, the back of his head bumping against it. Annora sat down beside him, her bag dropped in front of them both. She leaned her head against his shoulder and held onto him. _I got a personal survival kit of my own in there. Be damned if there isn't anything more on the ship. I forgot to check._

He almost laughed; that was a first she forgot to do anything. _By all means, let's go back to the ship and search if we want to set up our camp tonight and go searching in the morning for a cave or someplace. Anything is better than nowhere at all._ She'd been in the field, sleeping in caves and anywhere else if not on a ship, but this would be his first time having a taste of nature even longer than two days on a desert planet.

 _Just what is with us and the outdoors?_ she asked jokingly. He smirked with her.

His ears picked up the faintest to even the clearest of rustling amongst the trees and shrubs. He jolted forward, rifle in his hands again as his weak eyesight scanned the area around them. "Keevan, what is it?" she asked, slightly alarmed. He shushed her gently and stood to scout the area; he wasn't afraid of anything anymore, only for Annora and the baby, but in case there were any Jem'Hadar out there...

A loud roar made him whirl around and aim the phaser barrel in the air at the gigantic thing measured to be about twenty feet long and ten feet high, reptilian and spiked along the back swinging its head around and sniffing the air for its next line of prey. Upon seeing Keevan, it snarled viciously, baring its teeth and showing two rows of wicked razor sets. Keevan aimed his phaser higher and started firing at it. "Annora, hide!" he yelled behind him. The reptilian monster raised a claw and swiped at him, but Keevan dodged it, rolling in the earth and regaining himself to fire another shot at the predator, whatever it was. It was covered with thick plating of scales and exposed meat sections; it reminded him of one of those creatures Annora had introduced him to during their stay on Ferenginar. Those creatures existed millions of years before humans, called dinosaurs.

The monster was coming down at him again, jaws exposed, but Keevan was ready for it. The next shot hit it in the exposed heart as he dove underneath it, killing it instantly. The creature shrieked and wailed as it collided with the earth, distances from his beloved and their camp site. He got up and dusted both himself and his weapon. "Are you all right?" he called to her, turning over to see her coming out from behind the tree, putting her phaser pistol back to her belt, obviously ready to back him up if the chance came. "You know, you'd be putting the baby at risk bringing yourself into dire situations like this," he reminded her.

She huffed and put her hands on her hips. "What if that thing gobbled you up?" she argued. "I'd lose my husband."

"I can handle myself," he snapped, and now it seemed like the roles had reversed. She'd taken care of herself and him while he'd been hurt, now she was pregnant and it was his job to ensure both her and the baby's safety. Two different planetary systems, the roles switched. "Annora, I'm sorry, but think of this as me owing you for saving my life once before. From now on, I'll be the one to take care of you for the duration of your pregnancy and while we are on this planet. I'll be setting the ground rules just for the sake of all of us." He had never been one to be in charge of anything on his own outside commanding Jem'Hadar in his old life, and never did he think he would be the one to put on the pants of this marriage and relationship. Annora looked like she was about to snap when he held up his hand, his other still holding his phaser. "No, you have plenty of time to object with me, but this time you can't argue with me. That's life we're both bringing into this universe, and life can't be taken the way it's taken at the hands of the Founders and the Jem'Hadar."

And that was exactly what his role as a husband and a father would be, as it became clear to him the moment Annora told him she was pregnant and yesterday when they married. Their family had to live, a treasure that was often never prized in the Dominion. He watched his wife as her whole body started to shake visibly with rage as he talked her down like when they first met. They hadn't had a real argument since then. But then again, it was marriage, and he wasn't backing out because of this. He loved her too much.

"Well, fine then," she acquiesced, exhaling sharply and rolling her shoulders back and forth. She then looked down at their dead attacker and motioned with her hand. "But would you argue to skinning this poor bastard for food while we are here?"

Keevan was shocked. She had deliberately asked him to SKIN a predator! Vorta were not known for such savagery, and Annora wasn't a bloodthirsty Klingon, so how could she?! "Annora, you can't possibly -!"

"I learned how to while Uncle Bill, Father and I were on the hunt while camping on Earth since I was a child. I was also a Girl's Scout when I was a teenager. I did those things both in youth and on the field as backup, by means of survival. I don't like what Klingons do in combat, but at least I do this to wild savage beasts like this thing between us for emergency means." Her face twisted into a sardonic smile, very similar to Weyoun's. "A side of me you are just learning, husband."

~o~

They had been here for two months now, and life had to have improved if not like their old lives used to be. She and Keevan found yet another cave, moved their ship to that location, by the third day after searching high and low for a safer ground. It was like back on the deserted planet, but this time surrounded with more life and more food. When she was young, Uncle William and her father James would hike and camp the mountains of Montana, where their father had owned a cabin before he died. She hadn't been there for years, or either of them, since she got into Starfleet Academy, but she didn't lose her touch in the methods of hunting.

All this time of living in a jungle, surrounding by wildlife and unknown dangers - it was all exciting. But it angered her that she couldn't go on the hunt with her husband and had to stay and watch over the camp, as well as herself and the baby. If this was how Keevan felt while injured, then she knew what it was like to be helpless. But she wasn't fatally hurt; she was pregnant, for God's sake. Yet she had not choice but to be less active. And Keevan seemed to be enjoying being in control; what was this, a battle of the sexes? She and Jeffrey - she didn't let Keevan see this - had their moments, but nothing like this.

But that wasn't all the irritation during their life here, while the baby continued to grow to the point her abdomen was rounded, but not bulging all the way out just yet. She was a few days away from meeting the four month point. Each day that passed, she would feel the little one stir inside, but no kicking yet. Maybe not until the next month.

However, she'd suffered the symptom of needing to relieve herself by sneaking back to the ship every five minutes for the bathroom, which seemed to baffle and annoy Keevan even though he understood it was normal for a human female. He was taking both husband and father roles too seriously, ever since they were married. But the one thing to comfort her from her frustrations was their new large furry friend they made on the third day when they relocated into the cave. Einherji - she named him with a Norse word meaning "warrior", and it was fitting - had lived in the cave long before the couple arrived. At first, he'd raised his defenses and almost attacked before Annora did the honors of stepping forward while Keevan kept his weapon raised, and the beast which looked like a combination of bear and wolf on Earth softened upon seeing an expectant mother approach him unarmed. He'd rumbled and growled softly, lowering his head for her to caress as a sign of peace and greeting. Seeing them, her husband then lowered his weapon and came forward to greet their new companion.

"It seems we found a new protector," he'd said after the peace was made, smiling at the incredible beast. "What do you think we should call him?"

She'd already had the name in mind the moment she saw the bear-wolf creature. With his remarkable structure of the head of the bear and its body, while the tail was of the beautiful and fierce wolf, both Terran animals gave him the perfect name from one of her favorite ancient languages. "Einherji," she'd spoken, accepting a nudge of the beast's nose against her hand.

Keevan had looked at her and frowned, repeating the word and pronouncing the word as eloquently as carefully examining a newly uncovered artifact. "It's an old Norse word on planet Earth. It means 'warrior'," she told him. "He's our new guardian, and our only friend here."

Einherji proved to be stronger and faster than anything else in the jungle; those reptilian beasts came and went every twenty-eight days like a menstrual cycle, and she'd even grown to accept him as more than just a pet; he was like family. He would even allow her and Keevan to ride him through the jungle - whenever Keevan would allow her to, of course. So, while Keevan went out to hunt for them, he rode Einherji like one of the wild men of ancient times, sometimes with his shirt off and making Annora flush. They even made these long sticks with spears of stones like the Ice Age on Earth, and any other planet long ago. And as for food, besides those monsters after them every month, there were fruits that looked like papayas and mangoes to eat, for nourishment inside the system and for the skin; she and her husband even bathed in one of the many vast rivers of the jungle. She wouldn't be surprised if the greatest one was like the Brazilian Amazon.

And then one night, near the end of the second month, they were all greeted with a sudden shocker in the sky. She had finished washing up and was riding Einherji back to the cave when a flash of light overhead caused him to react and growl, whirling around for her to look up and see a streak across the sky and land somewhere far away from the cave. She felt her insides jerk and guided Einherji in the direction of the cave, where Keevan was inside the ship near the entrance, running the sensor scans. He'd seen it, too.

Someone else had landed on the planet.

"Don't worry, love," he assured her as she came into the cockpit where he sat at the controls. "They're nowhere near us, but the scans do not indicate they are Jem'Hadar or Cardassian. Except they are ninety kilometers from us. I would advise taking the ship, but we can't."

She knew why he was saying they could not get anywhere near these unknown beings that crashed onto their new home. They were Federation, but what trouble had they been through that they were here now? _I don't know,_ he sent her, _but we can't risk being exposed. This is our home, and we are not abandoning it._

 **So I thought everyone should know, Keevan and Annora landed on the very same planet Weyoun, his pregnant lover Mia and Odo crash-landed on in "His Enemy's Daughter", but the trio landed far away from the couple, and this is before Keevan and Annora encounter more trouble coming up in the next chapter. And Keevan was right to not bring himself and his wife to the "unknown Federation people", even if they don't know who crashed.**

 **It's been fun writing a jungle life for the newly married Keevan and Annora, as well as creating a reptilian monster to oppose them in their new life - and thanks to my boyfriend's suggestion of the beastly friend they made (which came from "Dungeons and Dragons") and the Norse-born name for him which is pronounced "in-hair-yee". They are magnificent protectors, bearhounds.**

 **Thanks to the wonderful "Change of Heart" episode. :) Soukara, not yet Dominion-controlled but will be, ultimately became the appropriate place for them, as well as now that we know where Weyoun, Odo and Mia crashed in the last story - and Mia gives birth to her and Weyoun's child.**


	28. Family is All That Matters

**The previous story ended with one event being that Weyoun 7 engaged with Weyoun 6 in an epic one-on-one in which the good one won, for his beloved and their daughter, as well as Odo and the others who came to their rescue. :D And I'm bringing back Amaya, Mia's Vorta counterpart resulting in the man who impregnated her - Weyoun 5 - was forced to take a sample of her DNA for the Founders to make a Vorta version of her since she would never join them.**

 **I also love "The Jungle Book" and "Tarzan" so much they are also inspiration for Annora's latest story during her new life. :)**

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Family is All That Matters

He did not see Amaya upon leaving the cloning lab, but hopefully in the event of time. He calmly strolled the corridors of Cardassian Central Command and did not pause to exchange a glance with anyone, hatred and fury coursing through his veins. The memory of his predecessor being defeated and decapitated by _his_ predecessor was intolerable, having never once been done before. Once a clone was defective, another was activated in his or her place until the defective one took their own life or was executed for their treachery - and this was a first time it happened with Weyoun's line. The greatest man in their modern existence.

After three short days and waking today, Weyoun 8 remembered every detail clearly, his predecessor living for only a day or two before the defective Weyoun 6 won the fight for the love of the daughter of Captain Benjamin Sisko and their newborn child - but then number 6 cut his head from his body in front of his new allies, as well as Amaya who had been briefly held hostage and forced to watch her new mate beheaded. It was Weyoun 8 feeling her pain, loathing his second to last traitorous predecessor for this, and everything Weyoun 7 passed down to him made him fear for Amaya. What if the Founder had her terminated and a new clone activated in her place? She was still new, but the Founders wasted no time in having her first line of genetic material suitable for cloning, her donor being a human female.

But first, he had to let Damar know he was alive and well, but his Cardassian friend-enemy must have heard the story from Amaya before Weyoun was brought back. He wasted no time going in without the owner's call; Damar was expecting him, and not surprisingly enough, he was pouring himself his precious kanar. Weyoun's lip curled, which faded when the Legate turned around and looked him up and down, bursting out laughing. "Well, hello!"

He was mocking him. He was still laughing when Weyoun sarcastically responded. "I'm glad to see that you find the death of my predecessor so...amusing." Of course he did; he made no secret of despising Weyoun, and for the last one to be bested by a defect who was still alive and well, living under Captain Sisko's safe wing without a doubt and living happily with his whore and offspring - and neither of them had been his to claim; Weyoun 5 had done that fine job on his own.

Now Weyoun 8 wasn't sure if he could stand that lifestyle, having a seed be produced and come into the middle of a greater glory ahead. All he wanted was Amaya by his side so they could conquer the entire Alpha Quadrant with their gods and allies together. Fighting for Weyoun 6's life to be ended turned out to be pointless, but the fighting was far from over.

Damar grunted and wiped his mouth. "Oh, you misjudge me. I miss him deeply. As a matter of fact..." He held up his half-empty glass to him, but Weyoun's nose twitched in disgust. "...let's drink to Weyoun 7."

He hissed. "Your mockery is a waste, Damar. He was killed by our predecessor who betrayed as much of whatever we have to the Federation, which means we lose a portion of the war to them. The fight is far from over, my 'friend'," he said, leaning over and locking eyes with the Cardassian who sniffed in his face and drank more kanar, the stench of it foul, "and we must do something to prepare for whatever comes next. Now, where's Amaya?"

"She's in the quarters that your predecessor shared with her. She was spared by the Founder despite the mild failure, yet she continues to weep for your return. You'll might as well find some way to comfort her so we can get back to business. Which starts with establishing a new base on Soukara, where Weyoun 7 was killed."

Weyoun bristled and straightened himself out. "I intend to," he replied simply before striding out of the office.

~o~

Annora used to run and climb trees as a child, which was what he learned to do in the last two months, with help from Einherji who watched from the ground as the Vorta shed his clothing, running naked and wild to keep his garments from getting drenched with his perspiration as he leaped from tree branch to tree branch, swung from vine to vine, and finally stopping at one large branch overhead so he could look down at the bear-wolf beast beneath, growling and rumbling his appraisal that Keevan was getting stronger and stronger.

He could feel it in his body, too. He found himself looking down at himself as soon as he jumped down from the tree and landed in a crouch-like motion, rising to smile at Einherji, then looked down at his body which was showing more than it did then. He was still slender, but his musculature sculpted his arms and legs, his chest and abdomen. Then his eyes caught the familiar symbol which he hadn't acknowledged in a long time; he actually forgot about this most important tie between him and Annora, but his memory clicked at its name. _The Trinity...for everlasting love._ The three-point symbol rested on the right side, between his hip and pubic area, which made it that more intimate and meaningful, kept between him and her alone.

If Weyoun was doing anything like he was doing, even if it wasn't involving the wilderness, then he felt what his cherished friend was.

A wave of sadness overcame him as he thought of Weyoun. He must be severely disappointed in him for betraying their people, for defecting. But Keevan hadn't even joined the Federation officially; he merely escaped with the woman he loved and lived the quiet life with her that they both wanted. It wasn't nearly sophisticated as they'd grown to, but the two of them, their unborn child, and the charming beast protecting them were all that mattered.

Keevan picked up the blanket lying on top of a rock and dried himself off before putting his clothes back on and getting on top of Einherji so they would ride back to the cave. It was late afternoon, and who knew what Annora was doing while he was exercising. She had been back to writing, but it would never get published, which upset her greatly. The last couple of months had been difficult for her, as well as the addition of the pregnancy - and her lashes out at him for being "controlling".

"Annora, for the last time, I'm only looking out for you!" he'd yelled at her, only two days ago, which had been after they finished bathing that morning, and she rounded on him when he tried to put his hand on her shoulder. She'd even struck him against the chest, the impact stinging but short-lasting. Nonetheless, he'd lost his temper then. "You think defying to get what you want will always get you anywhere? It can only get you so far! And I have news for you, _wife_ ," he'd seethed as he leaned towards her, "you're carrying a child that is counting on you as much as I am."

She'd huffed then and tossed her hair over one shoulder. "So, I'm supposed to give up myself for your sake now? Because I gave up so many things in my previous life that I have to give up motor functions just to relax, perhaps die from craziness because I can't do anything for myself anymore?!"

He remembered sighing with exasperation and throwing his hands in the air. "For the love of - Annora, why do you insist on making this difficult?"

She'd blown up then. "I'M making this difficult? Look who's talking! Are you treating me weak just because I'm pregnant?" She motioned with both hands on her belly, the tears coming fast on her soft face which broke Keevan's heart, her anger at him adding to it. If there was anything he knew about pregnant women being highly temperamental, he failed to understand it. "I was happy here, just getting married to you, knowing everything would be all right from now on, but here I am, stuck doing little to nothing while you run around the jungle doing ALL of the exploring and I'm stuck on my back in the cave!" She turned to stalk away from him and march in the direction of the cavern from the river, yelled over her shoulder for him to not follow her or else he would regret it.

They hadn't spoken or even made eye contact since two days then. She would turn her back to him or just be asleep - perhaps pretend to be, and he wasn't fooled. Keevan found her just now after his recent run around with Einherji, the beast rumbling behind him and nudging at him to go forward. He planted his feet firmly into the ground and rounded on him. "I won't disturb her now, not after the unfortunate discussion," he snapped. The beast lowered his head as if offended, whimpering softly. Keevan sighed and shook his head. "Oh, don't do that to me. I regret all of this, but why can't she understand that this is not about her, or about me? It's our baby. I remember everything she told me about her mother's miscarriage and stillbirth after her. I can't have either of that happen to either of them."

Einherji raised his head then and sniffed, his dark eyes showing all signs of telling him he was overprotective, that he can't be the one doing everything. At least let his wife have more energy in her body so she wasn't dying of insanity. The beast seemed to know more than he did at this point. Keevan stared at him in surprise, rendered speechless as well as remembering how hurt his wife was when she lost her control and shunned him. Women were more emotional than men were, pregnant or not. He sighed and sat down on the rock near the cave entrance, looking down at the earth.

"What have I done, Einherji?"

He felt himself give way and break down, the beast sensing his emotions and walking up to him to rest his head on Keevan's lap. In his suffering, Keevan brought both hands up and caressed the warm, smooth fur and leaned his head forward, his cheeks burning with streaks of tears. He felt like the worst husband in the universe, treating his wife the way he was. They'd been married for only two months and nothing had been easy for them. That voice in his mind reminded him that this was life, married and everything else in it: things always got worse before they got better. He tried to hold onto that leash, but he gave way onto Einherji and sobbed his self-hatred and heartbreak, wanting to make his pregnant mate happy but was overbearing on her every move. This was supposed to be equal, not alpha male over his expectant mate.

Einherji helped him stand; he stood but wobbled as he entered the home he shared with his suffering beloved. He came to the area, ducking through and seeing the fire and light fixtures still running for it was dark, and natural light filled it as much. Annora slept on a long blanket, a pillow from the ship supporting her head, and on her back, with a PADD beside her. She wore her sheer white blouse and her underwear, her hair pulled back. From where he was standing, Keevan saw the rounded hill of the baby growing. He almost smiled; his face still felt sticky with his tears that he didn't bother wiping. He wanted to just lie beside her and hold her in his arms, but what if she rejected him again like the last two nights?

Einherji nudged him forward, so there was his decision. Sighing and almost hiccupping, Keevan sat down beside his sleeping wife, reaching over slowly to pick up the PADD to read what it was. She was on a latest story, involving a young woman being stranded in a jungle and falling for a wild man raised in the wilderness, until trouble came to try and part them. She'd been on this for a week now, the adventures of this remarkable duo based off of _her_ and _him_...

"And thanks to two of my favorites, _The Jungle Book_ and _Tarzan of the Apes_."

He jumped, holding the PADD close to him as he looked down at her, seeing her rubbing her eyes as she awoke from her afternoon slumber. When she refocused her vision on him, her brows furrowed. "Keevan...were you crying?"

It was then that he remembered his face was still moist with his self-hate. Keevan turned his head from her. "Yes," he croaked, struggling to keep himself together. "Admit it that you hate me after all." It seemed so long ago he didn't want her to, but his whole interior was breaking down the walls keeping the structure together. "I asked you long ago to not, but now you do."

She didn't say a word to him, but she sent to him, the first time in two days. _I don't hate you. I love you so much._ That was all; she said no more because she'd already spoken enough in their last argument. _Why would you think I did?_

 _Because I hate myself for treating you like this,_ he admitted, still refusing to look at her. _I just want my family safe, but I crossed the boundaries. The last two months have not felt like the happiest that they should be. It shouldn't be like this._ What was wrong with him that he wanted to cry so much, when SHE ought to do that job? The sobs escaped his quivering lips that he turned to her but covered his face halfway and still kept his distance from her.

He felt her hand on him, forcing him to look up and see her smiling softly. "Sshh, don't cry, baby. We both knew this was going to be difficult."

She took his head into both hands and placed it over her heart, his keen ears taking in the steady rhythm that made him cry harder at the fact he was forgiven. "I'm so sorry," he wept. "I want to make it up to you." Indeed he would; he'd take her out of the cave when he went for his daily exercise with Einherji, but that would mean she couldn't jump the trees like he would. Seeing this, she burst out giggling.

"Keevan, what is it with us and the outdoors?"

He laughed with her, the positive energy coursing through him that his eyes downcasted to where their child rested. He reached over and ran his palm over the rounded, firm surface, feeling the baby stir in response. _Just a few more months, little one. No matter what, your mother and I will love you._

 _Even if it turns out to be not yours?_

Keevan raised his head and looked at her, seeing the knowing expression. "I know you don't want to think of the baby as...his, and I don't either," she said softly, "but can you promise me you won't hate it if it doesn't look like you in any way?"

She was really questioning him, unsaid as it was, about his love of the child no matter who the father was. She'd known all along about his doubts but never let him in on it until now. Keevan felt slightly exposed, on the verge of crumbling again, but then Annora's hand running through his hair brought him back up. "Keevan, don't do this again. I don't think I'll handle the baby growing up hated all because of who his father was."

Anyone to render him helpless and vulnerable was her and her alone. Keevan still loathed her first husband, but she was also right; it wasn't the child's fault who the parents were. He lifted his head from her heart and moved down so he rested the side of his head on her bulge, trying to listen for the movements as the baby waited to come forth. He sent the vow to both the child and its mother: _I promise._

~o~

She hated herself for breaking Keevan's heart, talking to him the way she did, but she couldn't be couped in the cave forever. Each day she lost control of her sanity; and a writer had no inspiration just sitting all day doing nothing. Her new story between herself and her husband required day-to-day inspiration, based off their daily acitivites, but as for the trouble that came along for the main hero and heroine - also based off of Tarzan and Jane - she had no direction to go, besides monsters in the trees.

There had been no more of those reptilian beasts lately, either. Einherji himself had been scouting out and coming back to warn them in case there were, but either they hibernated or simply waited. They were safe, for now. Which made tonight safer for her and Keevan to hike outside the cave, sneak to the river and spend the night as though they were back on a honeymoon. This whole moving into a jungle experience had turned out to be their honeymoon all along, one that never seemed to end.

Einherji remained hiding in the trees, a safe distance, so he could watch over them and let them know of any incoming predators. Laughing Annora, helped her husband set up camp, lighting the fire and setting up the light fixtures. So this place was officially their home; perhaps they would grow old here, but that meant their child would end up living alone. How would their line continue, now that she thought of it?

Keevan sensed what she was feeling as she draped a blanket around him from behind and snuggled against him. "It is what it is," he said softly as he looked into the flickering golden amber flames. "But I wonder what it will be like to have grandchildren. You humans must think about it when the time comes. Vorta seldom think about their own offspring bringing in little ones of their own."

The revelation shocked her to her core. She was on the verge of being a new mother, and already the question of grandchildren came too soon. For all she knew, she was overstepping herself in her line of thoughts. "Well, we'd love to leave behind something that really matters, don't we?" she asked, brushing aside some of Keevan's silky black curls. He sighed and leaned into her touch.

"You're right. I suppose something more than just your tales of the wild and the past. We might be dead long before anyone finds our bones when the time comes." He stopped himself there and looked up at her, alarm in his eyes. "How can I forget? I'm still a clone, practically immortal, and that means I'll -" _Lose you,_ he finished mentally, but Annora didn't want to hear anymore. She leaned in and kissed him on the mouth.

"Thinking about dying is never good if you want to enjoy precious life. Don't think about losing me yet, just spend all the years we have together with me while they still count." She raised a hand and brought it up to caress his face and further, to run her fingertips along his ear ridges. He rumbled with pleasure against her mouth, deepening it when she asked him, _How are we enjoying our first time away from the cave now?_

 _More than the first and last harsh weeks of marital issues,_ he responded, slightly teasing but never meant for it to be. She chuckled and broke the kiss. "Anything I can get my husband?" He opened his mouth to answer before there was a cry in the distance. It wasn't human or humanoid, so perhaps - "Mating call?" she suggested, letting him go so he could sit up straighter and look in every direction as his senses worked to detect where the cries came from. Overhead, Einherji growled as he heard them, too.

"Five hundred meters," Keevan noted after a moment, "that way." He nodded to their right ahead. And it wasn't long before more of them were heard. "Less than three hundred...has to be one happy couple." He shook his head and chuckled. "This remind you of those childhood camping trips?"

Annora nodded. "It does. Especially during mating season. Listening to the wolves howling in the distance, the birds calling, and some nights I wanted to tear my clothes off and join them, be anywhere else." _And here I am with my husband and living it literally._ She laughed when he did; the two of them laughing together was everything she needed as she recalled one of her fondest childhood memories. There had also been some times she brought Mia along, the other girl who shared her knack for adventure.

Keevan then bolted from her arms and crouched as more sounds came. "They're moving away, and it's because something's coming - and it's close!"

She jumped to her feet with him, shouting at Einherji to stay where he was while they worked to put the fire out as well as the lighting, snatching their blankets and throwing everything along with themselves behind a giant tree root. Assuming their positions, they pulled out their phasers. For once, he was allowing her to help him as long as they stayed hidden. _Someone's here, and it's not animalistic,_ she realized when Keevan transmitted to her that the footsteps sounded like they belonged to... _boots_.

It couldn't be the Federation people; they had come and gone, only days ago, without encountering the couple. The rustling and bustling of the ferns and bushes ahead of them snapped her out of her thoughts - and the silhouettes and faces emerged. She felt her heart as well as her whole inner being drop and freeze, Keevan beside her hissing softly.

 _Jem'Hadar._

~o~

There were Jem'Hadar here, on their planet. In this area, and right in _front_ of them.

The Dominion was here. But why? Establish a new base, conquer this place? If that was the case, then he and Annora had to get away. They had to leave this place they called a home, leave Einherji, and perhaps head to Deep Space 9 whether they liked it or not. _If we go, they'll separate us,_ Annora pleaded with him, but how could he comfort her?

 _We have no choice, love. Where else can we go now?_

They had to focus on the current problem, which was the three Jem'Hadar before them, even though the soldiers did not see them or sense them - yet. One was running tricorder scans to detect any life-forms in the area, which made his wife look at him worriedly. What more could they do now? They couldn't keep running forever; no matter how safe they wanted to be in a time of war, running away never helped. Sooner or later, you had to stand your ground and face what was before you. Like the three warriors for the Dominion with their phasers being drawn...

 _FIRE!_

She was the first to pull the trigger, and one yelled in pain before he died instantly, collapsing onto the earth. His comrades caught on, detecting their unseen attackers were hiding behind the massive root, and began to fire at them. Above, Einherji roared and jumped at them, pouncing on top of one and knocking his weapon out of his hand before proceeding to tear him apart. The last remaining Jem'Hadar who had fired at Keevan and Annora turned his attention to the wild beast and was about to fire the killing shot - before Keevan pulled out his handmade knife and threw it at the survivor, striking his heart.

He looked down when he heard his wife whimpering - and clutching her side, not that far where the baby was. "ANNORA!" he roared, jumping to her side with the bag dragged with him. He searched for her med kit and ultimately claimed it; pulling out the suppressant, he injected it into her neck to calm her down and subdue some of the pain while worrying about the baby. "Lie still," he ordered, helping her into that position as Einherji came to their side, sniffing and groaning as he saw one of his charges in agony. Keevan eventually found the tricorder and began to run it over her injury for the news.

"Well, good news is no vital organs were damaged," he said with relief, but the gloom overcame everything when he found the bad news. "Except the disruptor burst left an...anti-coagulent in your system." Jem'Hadar disruptors embodied this lethal substance that allowed the blood to flow freely without so much as a clot, thereby preventing proper healing unless surgery was performed. He moaned to himself in defeat; it was like a repeat of his own injuries on the desolate planet, and now it was his beloved wife whose situation was more threatening than his had been.

"But I'm not hemorrhaging that bad," she said sadly. "I'm sorry I took it. Our worst fears come alive; the baby and myself are both at risk."

He nodded gravely. "I'll give you the painkillers for now, and then we go back to the cave." _There we pack and leave. We're going to Deep Space 9, if Dr. Bashir can help you._ He remembered the good doctor if he'd been disgusted with Keevan ordering his Jem'Hadar to their deaths, but Julian Bashir was his family's only hope - even if it meant risking the attention of the captain himself. "I love you both, and I won't lose either of you," he swore to her, holding her hand in his briefly before administering the meds and helping her stand enough to haul her onto Einherji's back, riding them all the way back to the cave.

They had packed up within less than half an hour, but Annora didn't move much, for the sake of it. Moving only made it worse, and she didn't argue with him. Keevan went back to the ship to power it up; there was enough plasma fuel for the journey to their new safe ground, IF they would be accepted. Keevan would gladly fight to his last breath with Captain Sisko if that was the last thing, make sure his wife and unborn child got the medical treatment they needed; surely he would not refuse that.

Unfortunately, Einherji could not go with him, as much as he growled, begging to, but both husband and wife shook their heads as much as they wanted him to come, too. But a space station was no place for him, and this was his natural habitat - which had become their home, too, which they were forced to leave. The quiet life they desired would have to wait until a much longer time. "Oh, Einherji, you've been a great friend and protector," Annora told him softly, rubbing his head and kissing him. "We'll miss you." She wrapped her arms around the poor creature who sniffed her as she embraced him. She let him go so the beast would go to Keevan, nudging against his chest and almost pushing Keevan to the ground. He laughed and embraced him, too.

"Yes, we will never forget you, you fierce beast. May you find another like us, no matter how impossible it is." He could never ignore the ache in his heart he shared with Annora as they left their beloved protector where he was, leaving the cave all to him once more, and boarded their ship for the emergency medical treatment and seeking of a new home.

~o~

For the entire trip, she remembered holding on, the pain in her side getting greater with more blood loss and a constant change of bandages and addition of painkillers, Annora did her best to not move as much as possible. There had been one time, she remembered Benjamin telling her, that a young engineer on his team had died after twelve hours on assignment from a Jem'Hadar disruptor anti-coagulent, no matter the attempts by him, Dax and O'Brien to save the man's life. "No," Keevan had said, shaking his head as he put the ship at warp eight. "I won't let you die on me. You'll get that surgery even if I have anything to say about it."

Annora had sighed and leaned back, massaging her non-injured side and trying to assure the baby everything was going to be all right, when she feared it wasn't. She hated lying and not keeping promises, and Keevan was holding onto his. She put all of her faith in him and knew he would not let them down. _When did I ever?_

She'd passed out unconscious at some point just when Keevan informed her they were three hours away from Deep Space 9 - they were nearing their destination, and she'd been on a higher level of hope then - before blackness overtook, and the last thing she remembered hearing was Keevan leaving the console and diving to her side, yelling her name and telling her to not leave him, to not give up now, to think about the baby...so many things she lost all sense of. Now she awoke to bright light, lying on a bio-bed, and squeezing her eyes shut to block it out. And then a familiar face and voice greeted her. "Welcome back, Annora. And long time no see."

"Julian." She smiled upon seeing the kind doctor who had saved her Keevan's life despite who and what he was. "Yes, it has." She tried to sit up, but his hand urged her to lie back down.

"Just relax. Your external and internal hemorrhaging is done for, no serious damage to your vital organs, and I cleaned every ounce of your blood as I could, had to perform a transfusion. But you'll be fine," Julian Bashir assured her, still smiling. As much as she accepted it, she was baffled. Didn't he want to know the story about herself and Keevan?

"Doctor, what about Keevan?" she asked, looking around and not seeing her husband anywhere. The doctor's smile faded, but only halfway.

"He's in the other room, just anxiously waiting for you. He was also telling me, Captain Sisko and Major Kira quite the story, and the adventure the two of you had."

She didn't know how much Keevan told them, wanted to share her side as well...and then her memory jolted when she found herself looking down at her stomach and noticing how _flat_ it was. Horror overcame reason as she cried out and almost fell out of bed not long before Bashir helped her back into her place. "Julian, the baby - _our_ baby -!" Her baby was gone, _gone_...a hollow emptiness filled her to her bones as she felt vulnerable without the little one in her womb, and grief about to consume her if it died...

"Your baby is fine."

Annora looked up at Julian in shock. F-fine?! How was it fine when it was no longer in her - what had happened? Seeing her face, the doctor quickly stood up while holding both hands up. "Please, relax, Annora. The baby was just...removed and put someplace safer until birth. I've done this before to a few previous patients. I'll explain it to you very soon." He turned over his shoulder and yelled for _Keevan_ to come in.

Seeing her husband made her smile, and he smiled back, sending to her. _My love, you're alive. I thought I would lose you at first, but I saved your life - and the baby's._ His eyes fell downwards, and she followed his gaze, gasping at what she saw. What Julian had been trying to tell her.

Keevan's hands were holding his stomach, _cradling_ it, and it was bulging the same way hers had been before now. She stared at it in shock for another few moments, jaw dropped, before looking back up when he spoke softly but audible enough for her.

"Our baby is in here now. Inside me."

 **Honestly, I had so much fun doing the newlyweds' life in the jungle, thanks to those two stories whose animated Disney versions I cherish the most, and "Change of Heart" which is the heartfelt story of Worf and Jadzia.**

 **So now, Keevan's carrying his and Annora's - or is it JEFFREY and Annora's - baby. Nobody freak out, but there will be an explanation for this in the upcoming chapter. I hope you all enjoyed. :D**


	29. Reunions

**So, now we're getting into the events of the end of "His Enemy's Daughter", this story's predecessor. :) Now the truth settled about what Annora told her childhood friend, we're getting deeper. Although it still begs the question as to what goes on for the rest of this story, and the next and final in the trilogy will be "Yelgrun and Lynet: Chosen for the Marriage Bed". I'm still in the midst of watching all of season 7 to play the rest of this story out and the upcoming sequel, so it can't be tossed together just like that. This story is also aiming to be just as long as "Weyoun and Mia", so perhaps "Yelgrun and Lynet" will be as well.**

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Reunions

The bridge of Deep Space 9 hailed him as soon as he entered their territory, and not surprisingly enough, it had been none other than Captain Sisko himself, and he wasn't the least bit happy to see Keevan. He still hated him for what happened between them four months ago, but what could he say? His wife's life as well as their unborn child's was in danger that Keevan skipped the pleasantries and demanded that he come aboard so that his pregnant bride be saved.

 _"I never thought you would take a wife, Keevan. You owe me and my crew the entire story that will give us a good reason to not turn you back in. We're not going to kill you -"_

 _"You can spare me the assurances, Captain, but I'm no longer a member of the Dominion. I've lived far away from them and the frontlines, but now they took over our last home and my wife who is expecting my child has been hurt. If I don't get her the medical treatment she needs, I'll lose them both."_

The captain himself, his first officer - Major Kira Nerys, of course - the Changeling chief of security, Odo, as well as Dr. Julian Bashir and his medical team greeted him as soon as he hauled himself and an unconscious Annora, who was clearly pregnant and holding her bloodied, bandaged side through Airlock Two and helped her onto a stretcher that Bashir's nurse began to administer some more pain suppressants. He remembered the shock visible in their eyes as they took in the woman they knew, but what else when they discovered that she was married to Keevan? "I have to go with her, Captain!" Keevan had said when Odo - whom Weyoun always spoke so highly of all because he was a god, in his mind at least - tried to take him, but his wife needed him. "I'll explain everything as soon as she and the baby are all right."

"He's right," Bashir had added, running his tricorder over the mother's belly, desperation in his voice because he cared about Annora just as much, "because I have to perform the operation. She's hemorrhaging severely now, and the baby will die if I don't get it into another womb..."

Keevan heard those words crystal clear, and then he remembered one factor that his people and the Founders had preferred to keep secret, so he offered himself up instead. Bashir and the others had been shocked and horrified at his proposal that could not be refused, and he'd sighed heavily. "I can't explain everything, just do it."

And so it had been done. The baby lived, and so did its mother. But it had been taken from Annora's womb and placed into Keevan's body. Now Keevan stood in the doorway of the room his beloved rested in, holding the four-month growth from beneath, registering the same shock on her face that everyone else had given him. He'd taken a great risk, having a growing life-form placed into his body which was more advanced and faster than a human's. Annora would have carried the baby to nine full months, and seeing as she was only four months along, Keevan had four more months to bring it; that time period was for his people in natural conception. He'd given this information to Julian as soon as he awoke and conversed with the good doctor about what information he could give about the Vorta's biology.

Now he was sitting on the edge of the bed with Annora, and Dr. Bashir was speaking. "I've done the procedure before, one of my previous patients being Major Kira as well as Chief O'Brien's wife, the latter woman involved in a transporter accident I had to move her fetus to the major until birth. Although aside from the fact I have studied other humanoid reproduction systems, I have yet to study more about Vorta anatomy," he said when he looked up at Keevan questioningly. "If only there was a way to get a hold of a Vorta physician."

He sounded doubtful to himself as he was, and Keevan had to agree. He shook his head. Not without risking the Dominion presence coming to Deep Space 9 again, risking the both of them again and perhaps the entire station. "It won't be possible, Doctor, not if you want their presence jeopardizing the lives of everyone on this station. They cannot know we are here in any way, notably myself."

The doctor nodded. "But Captain Sisko would have to tell your uncle," he said when he returned his attention to Annora, "that you are alive."

She tensed at the mention of her uncle. _They haven't found me for two months, and thought I was dead by now. I'm afraid now._ He sent her another wave of a kiss that relaxed her senses if only temporarily. "Everyone thought I was dead for sure this time, unlike the last time I left without permission," she said softly, looking up at the doctor who was trying to smile assuringly but failed. He had no idea how to console either of them. "They're going to separate me from my husband."

"I'll talk to your uncle about that, and that's the story I still want to know," another voice from the doorway spoke. Captain Sisko strode in and pulled out a chair to seat himself beside the doctor, smiling at her and ignoring Keevan altogether despite the fact he now had Annora's baby in his body. "I'm sorry to have heard about Jeffrey - but why _him?_ " He turned his attention to Keevan now, eyes hard which Keevan returned with his chin lifted in return.

Annora stopped them both with the single word enough, getting both men's attention back onto her. "Because I love him," she answered, reaching for Keevan's hand and holding it in front of the captain. "Ever since we met. Even if I explained it to you, Benjamin, you wouldn't understand or tell me I was crazy." _We might have made up,_ she sent to Keevan, _but I won't take the chance of being sweet until I know for sure._

"You love him." The way Sisko answered was without emotion, but underneath the surface, Keevan knew he didn't approve of this yet he could do nothing about it, but the same might not go for Annora's uncle. "I'll understand that much, but how could you both be?"

"Because I don't care who he is or what he used to be," Annora answered, her tone taking on a more heated layer that Keevan knew she would burst. _Let me take it from here. I can be more...persuasive._

He locked Sisko's gaze with his as he launched into his persuasion. "You might not think that Vorta can actually love or feel any form of emotion, Captain, but we CAN," he said strongly, "and Annora saved my life that day that I brought her onto my ship when she came alone to the facility. I do not know how to explain it, but she was everything that I was: fierce, independent, resistant, and loyal. I would have died before you, as well as you, Doctor," he added when he turned to look at Bashir, "and the rest of your men came along if it wasn't for her. But that's not entirely why I love her. She's the light that filled my life which had been dark while I served under the Dominion. I gave my life for them once before, suffered at the hands of the Cardassians and loathed the Founders for not intervening, and a variety of other reasons. They took everything from my people, and I want to see them defeated, Captain. I want my people to live free from them, as I only want to live in peace with this woman who saved my life and who I saved in return." He looked down and ran his hand over his swelling abdomen where his and Annora's baby slept, getting settled into its new home.

To feel a new life inside him must have been what she and other women felt, and it was so foreign yet fascinating to experience - but then he would end up experiencing the symptoms of pregnancy in Vorta. In the first month would be nothing, the second sickness, the third constant hunger day and night, and finally numbness and loss of circulation in the arms and legs, rendering him almost paralyzed until birth date. He was in for three months of hell after this one.

"I was on the verge of saying that I don't trust you any more than I trusted you on that planet," Sisko said after a long moment of dramatic silence. "And I still don't know if I should...although I'm inclined to. Because my daughter is about to marry a Vorta who left the Dominion for us, had a child with him. My first grandchild." Was it Keevan's imagination, or was Benjamin Sisko, the man who hated him for the fiasco with the Jem'Hadar, smiling?

His brain clicked then as soon as the man mentioned his daughter, Mia, and the Vorta she was marrying...

"Weyoun," he said, allowing a smile of his own show, and then his wife's head snapped in his direction. Her emotions were a myriad from startle to shock to disbelief. His own matched hers; how could _Weyoun_ , the greatest leader he'd ever known, leave the Dominion and defect to the Federation for his lover and mother of his child? There were so many questions he wanted to ask him...

 _Mia is my best friend. And she married your friend, too. How about that? And I hated Weyoun before, so I don't know how to feel._

 _You need to meet him,_ Keevan told her with a smile. _He's my mentor and cherished friend. I haven't seen him since I abandoned him and our people..._ He stopped himself there. A new questioned formed in his mind:

Was this Weyoun the same one he remembered - or a new one?

~o~

Now in front of her, on the hand-held viewscreen, was the face of the man who was family but whom she had not seen in two months. Who was angry yet pleased to see her, but she would not accept both because of the way he was speaking to her. A part of her felt she deserved it, especially since running away was more than any crime she committed in the past. Even more than stealing a runabout and running for the main ketracel-white storage which in turn gave her the man who was a part of her life - and carrying their child for her. For the both of them, and it made her feel nervous. She didn't know what to expect in four more months which was the gestation period of a Vorta.

 _"All this time I thought you were dead,"_ her uncle was saying, face stoned but his eyes burning, _"and now I get called by Benjamin to hear that you're here, you've been hiding on some jungle planet now controlled by the Dominion all this time - and now you married the Vorta who held you, Ben and the others hostage. I honestly don't know what to say to you."_ He shook his head, reaching up and rubbing his forehead.

Annora shook her own head. "I'm not expecting you to. I've told this to him and the rest, but I don't expect you to understand me unlike them."

His reaction was exactly as she expected. _"What won't I understand? That the Vorta is using you, that he brainwashed you, seduced you -"_

That word - that nerve of a simple disgusting word - made her snap and bark at him, the hormones from pregnancy remaining despite the baby removed from her womb. "ENOUGH." Uncle Bill stopped, face still just as tight and allowing her to continue. "You honestly thought I'd allow myself to fall for him that easily? I made a mistake marrying Jeffrey a long time ago, like you told me. You never said it then, but I saw it in your eyes."

She never once admitted it to herself or anyone else then, but Uncle Bill had been uncertain about her decision back then to get married while still attending school, yet he never objected. He had respected that she was a woman and that this was her choice. Well, now would never be an exception. "Keevan is not the monster you think he is. I'm sure Benjamin explained that to you?" she asked coldly. If he said one word about her husband and the father of her child, she was not speaking to him anymore. Her old life was behind her, and she would gladly push her own uncle aside if she had to.

William was silent for some time before he sighed and nodded. _"He did, but that doesn't mean I approve -"_

"That's exactly what I hoped you'd say," Annora interrupted angrily, her heart slowly cracking. "Keevan is everything Jeffrey wasn't, from our time on that desert planet, then our separation in which we promised each other we'd never be apart again and that we belonged together - which we DO - and then I found out I was pregnant. I don't know if the baby is Keevan's or Jeffrey's, and yet that is why I left in the first place. It was a standstill, either I stay there and risk discovery or leave and find the possible father of my child and start over. All we wanted was to live in peace, because I would never live with knowing anyone else around me hated the man I truly loved, but I can't live with it. couldn't live with any accusations that he had raped me, which he DIDN'T; a Vorta never does such a thing as foul and unforgiving. I'm tired of living with everyone else like that. I'm tired of living near you; I want myself, my husband and our child to live somewhere else."

Her uncle looked like he was about to say something but didn't know how to; either he wasn't sure if he should go ahead and speak what he wanted to for the sake of argument, or if he should just hold his silence for her sake. Or was he considering her words? Annora held her breath before it became clear he was speechless; perhaps she should add on even though Benjamin had already told him this. "I was hurt by Jem'Hadar on Soukara, if you forgot. I woud have died, or the baby if not me, if Keevan hadn't risked his well-being to have it moved from me to him. You should at least thank him for saving my life like Dr. Bashir and I saved his. He's not bad anymore; he was supposed to kill himself in capture, but he didn't. Because of me and the baby. Is that too much to understand, Uncle?"

There was a long moment of pause, but he didn't look at her the entire duration. When he finally did, he looked like he was going to break down, which startled her. There were very few times she'd seen him like this, and her father, his older brother, never once shed a tear. Men did it well to hide their misty eyes and sobs with tight jaws and burning gazes.

 _"I'm sorry, Annora. I just wanted you happy, and I see that you are. And I'm also happy that you're alive. If I ever have the time, I'll stop by Deep Space 9 for a visit. You and your husband have my blessings, and I look forward to meeting the kid,"_ he told her with a wink.

~o~

"Oh, Weyoun! I never thought we would ever be like this. How does it feel to be married?"

He couldn't stop relishing the fact that Mia was his wife now, and that they were forever bound not only in heart, mind and soul, but in unity. Both sides threatened to keep them apart, but they triumphed. The Dominion was still scheming to destroy the Federation, but now that he was here, he would help them win the war if he had anything to say about it. He might be just a security aid of dear Odo now, but he was still the diplomat at heart even if anyone else said otherwise. There might be another Weyoun activated within the Dominion, but it was _him_ who was the true Weyoun in existence, and he knew it.

But tonight was all about him and his beloved, their daughter spending the night with her grandfather and his own love, Weyoun's new brother-in-law Jake gone back to his own place with his roommate Nog, and Odo taking his new bride to his own quarters, which meant that Weyoun and Mia were all alone for tonight, and it had been so long since they'd made love. It had been barely a couple weeks since Riona was born and her mother was still readjusting, but she seemed so eager for one night because it was their wedding night. Weyoun looked down at her and smiled, leaning down to kiss her. "Mmm. I feel like a new man. It's wonderful. And tonight..." Oh, to kiss her in other places besides her lips, such as her shoulder as well as nibbling to excite her and make her laugh. "...will be worth it." He was already burning with arousal, slowly growing when she began to stroke his sensitive ear ridges and then wove her fingers through his hair.

"Yeah, making love after such a long time..." She never got to finish her sentence before the door to their quarters buzzed, and the wonderful moment was ruined.

"Now who could that be?" And who in the gods' names was visiting them on their wedding night of all nights? He let Mia go unwillingly; he was burning in his loins, much to his own embarrassment. "Come in!" she called, sounding just as frustrated as he was. But when the doors opened, in strolled a young woman who looked like she'd be the same age as his wife, the latter's jaw dropping as she recognized her. "Annora!" The other woman gave a bright smile to mirror Mia's as she bounced over, laughing with her and throwing her arms around her for a hug. "What a pleasant surprise! What are you doing here?"

"Mia, it's been so long," Annora answered. "I was transferred to this station, but then I heard you got married."

Weyoun's senses detected more than she was telling her old friend, whom he guessed had known her since they were much younger. She was the opposite of Mia, though her long natural-colored hair was the same length as his wife's, her chestnut eyes on him now, swirling with recognition of him but not loathing him surprisingly. "This must be him," she said, still speaking to Mia.

Weyoun nodded, though furrowing his brows together. "Miss...?"

She held up her hand, correcting him. "Mrs. Annora O'Neal." His attention fell to the ring around her left finger, correcting himself even though she already did. He smiled at her and extended his hand for hers. "You must be Weyoun."

His memory clicked then and there. Now he remembered Annora O'Neal, Starfleet investigative journalist and published author, like Jake. Although from what he uncovered, she had been reported missing for two months, having pronounced dead when the search was called off to focus on the war efforts. To learn she was Mia's childhood friend and standing before them, alive and well, was pure surprise. "I am," he answered. "It's an honor and a pleasure, but I'm afraid we'll have time tomorrow to catch up because my wife and I were about to..." He felt his cheeks flush when he stopped himself in time from speaking the most intimate act between husband and wife, but her soft laughter made him relax with understanding.

"It's no problem," she assured him. "I understand. I'd love to talk to you both tomorrow, because I also brought someone with me who says he knows you, Weyoun."

He stiffened. _Someone who knows me..._ He looked up with his wife when Annora left them for the door, pushing the button to open it -

\- and revealed a face who let himself in. A face he had not seen since he'd betrayed their people for the Federation, who was supposed to have been brought back by Yelgrun only for the latter to be taken prisoner to the Federation. And now this face was in his life once again, filling him with more light that today's events brought him. Weyoun barely heard himself when he breathed the name for the first time in a long time. "Keevan."

The younger Vorta smiled slightly and inclined his head forward briefly. "Hello, Weyoun. Long time no see."

He left Mia where she was, in spite of himself, and took Keevan into an embrace. Since the disaster with Captain Sisko and his crew against Keevan and the Jem'Hadar unit under his command, the Founders awaited the return to execute his former student which had Weyoun - notably number 5 - worried that the Founders wanted to terminate his line, but Keevan was only in incarnation number two and had never once betrayed them...until now. A new clone hadn't been activated because Keevan wasn't as important as Weyoun was, unlike when Weyoun 6 defected successfully. They must have waited until Keevan was back to take pleasure in taking his life after debriefing, see him crush when Keevan was too strong to not resist.

"I'm sorry."

Weyoun pulled back and looked at him in the eyes, shocked and confused at the apology. "Keevan, why are you apologizing?" Oh, he knew why. Both their women, now that he knew he and Annora were married and sent the message to Mia, watched side by side.

"Because I betrayed you and the Dominion," Keevan answered simply, letting him go and looking him in the eyes. There was immense happiness blended with immense sadness. "I didn't activate my termination implant like a good Vorta, therefore marking myself as a traitor. I could only imagine how you felt when you learned I was to be returned at Yelgrun's hand."

That was actually his _predecessor._ He held his silence and kept his eyes locked with the other Vorta's liquid amethyst. He let Keevan searched his face, read his emotions without speaking aloud, and then the other Vorta's eyes widened slightly. "You're not the Weyoun I remember," he stated, his mouth twitching in one corner. "Which one are you?"

Weyoun smirked. "Six. Defect."

Keevan chuckled then, the tense mood lightening up. "So, my thoughts were unfounded. You're a different man than you were then. Should I be surprised that you care more about lives lost than you did then? That your woman here has helped you see the light just as mine did?" He turned his attention to Mia as Weyoun saw from the corner of his eyes. She was studying him very closely and wasn't sure about him when she accepted anyone so easily. _He's my former student and one of the best I ever had. He is gifted and devious, as any of our people are, but he's also independent and prouder of himself than anyone else I've known._ That was enough to make her smile.

"She did," Weyoun answered, "and now here I am with her and our daughter. Riona is a beautiful little girl, and we're proud to have her." He motioned for Mia to be by his side.

"I was pregnant, too," Annora said suddenly, getting all eyes on her. Mia was looking down at her friend's abdomen, seeing how flat it was and worrying if she lost the baby - "But there was an accident on the last planet we were living, regarding the Jem'Hadar, and I would have died if Keevan hadn't gotten us here."

Now Weyoun found himself looking at Keevan upon sensing the depth of her words. The baby was alive but no longer in her womb...so that left another place. He turned his attention back to Keevan and finally saw the young Vorta's hands on his own stomach - and also saw that it was bulging. He felt his eyes widen and his jaw drop, sensed Mia feeling the same as he was. _Gods have mercy._ "Keevan, you're..."

He was about to speak before Annora was there. "Okay, we can continue this tomorrow. You guys, I'm sorry we shocked you with this. We live next door." She led her husband out through the door just as it opened for them, closing behind them and leaving them alone once more. It was then that Weyoun remembered his growing but now fading arousal, except it could wait a little longer just as his wife was still stunned, and now she looked up at him. The happy reunion had ended with the revelation of one of the most important secrets of the Vorta physiology.

"Weyoun...are all Vorta...?" She couldn't finish, so he did the honors as he felt himself shrink underneath her gaze, one brown eye and one blue eye.

"All Vorta are double-sexed, yes. Like Terran hermaphroditism. But very few know of this besides the Founders and each member of our kind. You understand why, given how a human would feel if they knew how to live with themselves that way." He bowed his head. "My love, I'm so sorry I never told you. Please forgive me."

He tried to read her emotions, read her disgust, but saw none of the sort. He saw understanding instead, and he looked up at her only to feel her lips against his, her arms wrapping around his neck to bring him in. Weyoun laughed against her mouth as this was her way of asking him where they left off before they were interrupted. Tomorrow for more talking could wait. The old friends long separated had a lot to catch up on.

~o~

Annora never thought she'd say this, but it felt great to be on Deep Space 9 now that everything seemed to be going back to normal, but there was still a fire burning outside these station walls. She was surrounded with her husband by Captain Sisko and his family, Dax and her Klingon husband, as well as her best friend Mia and her family, and so many of the others whom she had been close with while on Starbase 375. Just when she thought it was going to be bad news.

She and Keevan had been given quarters next to Weyoun and Mia. She learned that Mia was a dabo girl for Quark, and ever since he defected, Weyoun was Constable Odo's aid. Keevan needed a job himself since he was made for something higher than a waiter as he'd been offered by Quark upon encountering the Ferengi once again. It was a surprise to know that Weyoun had spoken to Odo and recommended him. Let's just say that Keevan was made to be yet another assistant of Odo, and two would be enough for him. Two Vorta assisting him with the bigger parts of security.

She constantly found herself looking down Keevan's body, seeing where their baby now was, that hollow feeling no longer present in her. At night when they settled down, she would reach over and run her hand over his belly, moving her body to spoon with his, bringing herself closer to him and never wanting to let him go. To know he did this for her was still a blessing. He was their hero. _You're my angel,_ she sent to him before closing her eyes against his heart. _We saved each other's lives, beginning with me rescuing you. Now you returned it. Now look at us married with a child on the way. And everyone accepts us here._

Their story had captured the attention of their friends and the entire crew when they spoke of their time on that planet as well as tying the story with the Jem'Hadar known with it. Annora filled in her decision to flee the life she knew for a new one despite a time of hazard and death waiting at every corner, losing her first husband and becoming pregnant only to return to try and free the man she truly loved - only for Quark and his fellow Ferengi to come into the picture, which was another step in the adventure they'd begun; Ferenginar after Empok Nor was where they decided to marry before moving on, finding Soukara in Cardassian space which hadn't been taken yet, where they lived primitive for two more months to come - and also learned that was where Mia had given birth, with Weyoun and Odo helping out, having been in some trouble themselves. Everyone laughed when the couple spoke of Einherji, their furry friend whom they both missed dearly and protected them. Sadly, their happy life was shortened when the Jem'Hadar came along, forcing them to flee, but Annora had been shot, and the entire crew knew the rest. For that, it was all the more reason that Keevan was not the Vorta - or should she say, monster - most of them thought he was, the one they remembered from that planet and set his own Jem'Hadar up for slaughter.

He had changed, as Weyoun had changed.

A month had gone by since they were "stationed" on DS9, and by then, Annora had recently finished her new story based on their life on Soukara, also inspired by _The Jungle Book_ and _Tarzan_ , and she sensed it would be better than her last book. The Federation News Services were happy to know she was alive and welcomed her back; even Jake had wanted to work side-by-side with her sometimes. Mia's younger brother if not by blood was a major fan of hers, which she was happy to know.

Looking the results on the PADD over, Annora was overcome with joy that she couldn't wait to show Keevan. She was just rising when she heard the noises coming from the bathroom; there was no mistaking the sounds of retching. Keevan was sick with nausea, which began at the start of the second month. He was carrying the baby to full term, which meant, like with Kira Nerys and Keiko O'Brien, she could not take the child back for the rest of the term. Just like Bajorans, Vorta mothers and children - in this case, father and child - formed strong bonds that internal problems would arise if the fetus was removed so soon. Neither could risk any damage, so she would have to deal with it, but it wasn't like the baby would be given away like Kira had been forced to. She could only imagine how the major felt.

She was more than ready to put out her story when she heard Benjamin's voice over the comm. _"Sisko to Annora O'Neal. Meet me in the wardroom."_

There he was when she found him, with Constable Odo looking over some reports with him, both expressions grim and knowing, and she saw why: the latest casualty reports. Annora sighed; why was she not surprised? Two months living in a jungle and then coming back to reality which was the lives lost every day, ever growing. Benjamin looked up at her when she came in. "Oh, perfect timing," he said half sincerely, half sarcastically, overall previously mentioned grim. He handed her a PADD so she could read the names...and her heart fell when she saw one of them.

"Grace O'Neal."

Odo looked her way upon hearing the name. "You know her?"

Annora nodded numbly. "My last husband's sister. She was a graduate from Starfleet Academy, promoted Ensign a few months before Jeffrey died." She shook her head. _I haven't seen her since Jeffrey and I graduated from the academy,_ she sent to Keevan as well as spoke to the two men in front of her. _She was only a few years younger than either of us._ Odo sighed at this.

"Casualty of war," was all he could say. "These are difficult times, Annora."

"Casualty reports are all I look at," Ben said softly, oblivious now to the both of them. "When the war started, I read every name and all I can think about is them. I thought it was the least I could do to honor their sacrifices. But now...the names blur together."

Annora felt the tiniest prick of a tear on both corners of her eyes. She looked up to the captain in time to see his eyes lowered to the floor, unable to look at her and his chief of security. "I was gone for two months, but I never stopped thinking about this. Sometimes I hate myself for being helpless, even long before then. I wish I could pick up my phaser and actually join you guys in the fight, but not as a soldier." He looked up at her then, his face unreadable. "I know I crossed the line, Ben, but because I hate anything like this -" She held up the PADD which had her former sister-in-law's name amongst the dead. "- I know I do the right thing following my gut. If that makes it a little better."

 _"Kira to Sisko."_

The major's voice on the comm prevented him from answering Annora. "Go ahead."

 _"The_ Defiant _is ready for AR-558, sir."_

 **The episode "The Siege of AR-558" was one hell of an intense episode, including what happens to Nog. But it was also hella perfect for what will continue next. Meantime, Annora's got a new assignment to do, and we know what that is - and hell of a dangerous one for her for sure, but we know her too well.**

 **Hermaphroditism is where a person is born with organs of both male and female genders. It's an interesting topic on how determining gender is much deeper than just dropping your pants and being done with it. It's not mentioned right now, but later, and the oneshot inspiration and reason as to how Keevan will give birth later on was from "It's a Living" by wembleyfraggle.**


	30. For the Causes

**When I watched "The Siege of AR-558", it was one of the most psychologically intriguing episodes I'd seen - and one of the most believeable events that includes what happens to those with less experience with war and combat, particularly Nog who lost his leg. A young Ferengi accompanied by his always complaining uncle who remains by his side as he is treated just suffers as much that progresses into "It's Only a Paper Moon".**

Chapter Twenty-Nine

For the Causes

When a Vorta was with child, the entire second month was bouts of nausea and sickness, and lasted all hours of the morning, which made it difficult to work in those hours, which he was nervous irritated Odo whom he called a good superior, treated him more fairly than the Founders did, and his gruff demeanor didn't sway him by any means.

Weyoun was always smiling and happy as he'd been while serving as Dominion ambassador to the Cardassian Empire, but now he was nothing more than an aid for the Federation, nothing important which Keevan personally held unacceptable. Weyoun was a great leader, a natural at diplomacy, so how could he be nothing more than a security assistant? Keevan had no qualms with his own position, but not for his beloved friend and former mentor.

Perhaps it was just pregnancy making him think this way. He had never once criticized Weyoun in any way besides believing the Founders were gods, in his mind. This new Weyoun - not the one activated in his departure - was far more pleasant, if otherwise almost the same person, than the one Keevan had known since he was in his first incarnation. Despite being a different embodiment, he still the same Weyoun.

Annora had gone only an hour ago with Captain Sisko and the others to AR-558, a planet in the Chin'toka system which the Dominion had used to establish a communication relay station, only to lose it to Starfleet. From what Annora told him after speaking with the captain, the Federation troops now residing there had remained for five months without improvements to the system. Which was why she was accompanying Sisko and the team to the barren planet itself.

However, as he sat behind his small desk looking over the latest reports given to him by the deputies, so he could give to Odo, whilst rubbing his stomach in small circles out of habit - he supposed he knew what this was like for pregnant women. If he were human, he would look like he was barely even seven months - he began to worry for Annora. He couldn't tell her to limit her travels because she still had a career that she'd gotten back on track with, but that didn't stop him from worrying for her life.

"Your wife is as strong as mine is. Have faith that she will not get herself killed." Weyoun laughed as he strolled in with a collection of PADD's in one arm and the grunting little thing in the other. Mia was a dabo girl who couldn't bring the child to work due to her employer's regulations, and the baby needed to be involved in both her parents' lives, not just spending her time in a day care.

Keevan dropped the PADD to the table in front of him, sighing. "I do believe in Annora, but you know as well as I do that it's the very same planet that the Dominion has been fighting to reclaim; the Founder always spoke so highly of it. Those Federation soldiers still on the base have tried to defend only for more Jem'Hadar to swarm in every day. Who knows if my wife, Captain Sisko and the rest will be lucky."

Baby Riona let out another series of grunts as she squirmed in her father's arms. "Oh, come now, it's too early to fuss," Weyoun chided, laughing as he walked over to his own desk at the other end of the office; Odo's vast desk was in between the two of them. "Your uncle Keevan is here; do you want to go to him?" he cooed to his little daughter who was now held in both of his arms. He looked up to Keevan and smiled.

"How can I refuse?" Keevan accepted the baby who cried happily and reached for him. She had her father's eyes as well as his ears and hair, but she looked exactly like her mother. She was a beautiful little creature, indeed, and she sparked a warmth in him that he couldn't shove down. He could only imagine the one in him coming out to be just like her; he'd been afraid to hold Riona at first, but her mother smiled reassuringly and helped him. He regretted despising Mia Sisko in the start; she was full of love and life, in some ways like Annora only willing to draw her lines. She and Weyoun were meant to be just as he and Annora were; it seemed they were the start of the new era he was dreaming of. He and Weyoun were the first Vorta to be free from the monsters who enslaved them, bear children with two human women. "Don't you ever sleep well anymore?"

Weyoun laughed and shook his head. "She's up all night screaming ever since we brought her home. Don't be surprised if your own little one will do the same to you and Annora."

The doors whooshed open. "Spending all morning with a day care instead of getting some work done, gentlemen?" Odo asked, a small smile forming as he walked over and took Riona from Keevan's arms. "Good morning, little one. Spending the day with your daddy and your uncles?"

Keevan stifled his giggling too late, covering his mouth. "Uncle Odo," he said under his breath, but Weyoun's equal keen ears caught the words and laughed. Odo shook his head and did his best to keep his own laughter in, clearing his throat and handing the baby back to her father.

"Well, now that a good morning is out of the way, let's get back to work, gentlemen. And Keevan, your wife will bring herself back alive with the others. I don't feel any better about AR-558 any more than you do, and I am just as worried, but I try not to worry too much. I don't believe I have to remind you, do I?"

Keevan nodded; his superior was right, but before he could speak, his stomach tightened and then lurched with the familiar bout, coming without warning. He felt his cheeks bulge and tighten as he held it in as he bolted from his chair and dashed for the nearby waste box and let loose the contents from his mouth. Oh, how he longed for this to be over...but the worst of his condition was to come.

~o~

The Chin'toka system had been rendered vulnerable between the battle for control by the Dominion once again, and more Jem'Hadar kept coming in every day. The _Defiant_ had come under fire from them the moment they arrived, and the crew - with Annora among - barely made it and were greeted with more fire from one of the remaining members of the Starfleet unit who had been guarding AR-558 for the last five months but had no luck with improvements of the system. The other team thought they were Jem'Hadar at first until Benjamin made peace with the unit's commanding officer, Lieutenant Nadia Larkin, who showed them all the damaged communication relay which was the link to their lives.

Their time was hell on earth, and the first one Annora had been back on since returning. Besides their best engineers, Dax helping out, trying to get it back online so they could tap into the entire sector's enemy communication system, the morale was lower than Annora or any of the others had ever witness. One of them even wore a necklace of ketracel-white vials taken from the Jem'Hadar he killed; Nog pointed this out himself that this was the man's way of keeping count, and there were seven vials.

His uncle Quark, Mia's boss, was present, but at the order of the Grand Nagus in hopes of finding facts for profit, but as Jadzia told him, "the closer you get to the frontlines, the less profitable it is." War was less about money and more about phaserfire. But still, having another Ferengi face around was a little more comforting, yet he was always warning his nephew about humans and how they were like Klingons if deprived of what kept them stable. Annora shook her head; Quark and his disregard for the things that mattered most beside profit.

Besides Jem'Hadar - turned out to be holograms as a false sense to lower their guards - there were Houdini anti-personnel mines that had to be eliminated. The issue was that they always popped up at random that Dax and one of the engineers had to work together to solve this problem. Annora could see how much of a toll the low morale of the soldiers who had been here long before they arrived was taking on Captain Sisko, and she hated that she couldn't cheer him up. How could you cheer anyone up at a time like this?

She had been ready to face real Jem'Hadar in real combat like the situation now, but now that it finally happened, she ended up sustaining another injury from them, this time to her left arm, when they finally arrived. This was not long after Lt. Larkin was killed while she and Nog were scouting - and Nog wasn't so lucky as Annora had been. The blow below his left knee was too extensive for a dermal regenerator that Dr. Bashir had to remove it, much to the distress of his uncle Quark. Nog had to be taken to a Starfleet medical facility for further treatment, but there was no telling whether or not he would get a new replacement. Annora remembered being by his side when Julian informed Quark and the captain, and not long after, the two entered a heated argument over caring about Nog and the rest of the men, which Benjamin did very much. Annora held her breath as she looked down at the sleeping face of the young Ferengi under the influence of hypospray. She understood how much Quark cared for his brother's son, but he had no right to accuse Captain Benjamin Sisko of having no heart or humanity. She knew the captain well enough to know that. At least Nog would live, but then he broke when he asked Benjamin about the communications array, which Ben assured him he was proud of him.

Her own injury happened when they all came under attack, after Nog was taken off duty for the remainder. The pain was bad, but not as serious as it had been to the side on Soukara. At least her arm wouldn't be removed; Keevan would be devastated to learn that when she got home. She tried to brace herself for him throwing a fit anyway.

They were all outnumbered, but they'd made it. They'd lost men they knew, few remaining, but they were all alive and the mission had been worth it. Now they were home, and Annora was back with her husband, her arm bandaged and surviving, and she was swarmed with three important people in her life. Weyoun turned out to be more charming than she expected, but that was one of his known traits, and he was the man for her best friend. Their daughter was handed to her, cooing and laughing that Annora was afraid of dropping her by holding her with only one arm, but Mia helped her. The baby wasn't her own, but the more time Annora spent with her and sometimes babysat for her best friend, the more excited she became at hers and Keevan's coming.

"Now that you've gotten your welcome home greetings, I'd like to have my granddaughter in my arms," Ben said, grinning as he came up and took Riona into his arms, with Jake coming up to join them all. Now that the family was coming together, Annora was left with her husband, who was cradling his abdomen yet again. Keevan was smiling at seeing her again, but his eyes and the message were clear: _You could have gotten killed._

 _Just an arm graze. I'm alive, still. I promised you I would be back._ She blew him a kiss which he took, but he still wasn't calm. He had been worried about her because of his knowledge of the Chin'toka system and the Jem'Hadar always coming in. Because of Nog, he had been afraid she'd lose a limb as he did.

"You're still not paranoid over my safety and life, are you?" she asked in exasperation as soon as the doors to their quarters closed. "I'm not pregnant anymore, and I'm back to what I do best. You object to that?" _Or does this have to do with us being married now that you can continue to try and stop me? I thought you were done with that._

He rounded on her, eyes blazing. "You think I want to just sit by and allow my own wife to get killed so brazenly? It's my responsibility as a husband to make sure you don't die before our child is even born," he said angrily, looking down where his hands were still holding the bulge. "I don't know if I can ever take a loss like that. Annora, honestly, I spent the last few days worrying for you and wondering if I would see you again as much as I was constantly assured by Weyoun and Odo -"

Oh, so he was worried for no reason now, it seems. Was this also part of Vorta pregnancy? "And they are right," she interrupted, hands on her hips. "You should stop worrying so much for me and start worrying about the baby. You're the one who's carrying it now, not me. In us humans, constant worry and stress is bad as much as we can't help it." _Maybe it's because the baby is half human that it's making you think like this,_ she sent to him, clenching her jaw and locking eyes with him.

Keevan's face tightened. "Maybe it is, but I don't see why I shouldn't fear for my wife's safety," he said softly. He looked like he was on the verge of breaking down because if he'd lost her, he never would have forgiven himself. It made her regret her snapping temper that she walked over and embraced him. _If only there was something to help me ease these worries. I didn't use to worry so much. I used to own and accept it._

 _Then promise me something._

 _Anything._

 _Don't_ ever _try to stop me from doing my job again, or stop me from taking charge._

He kissed her on the neck when she tilted her head to allow him access. _I promise._

As soon as he had fallen asleep in her arms that night, Annora couldn't sleep, but it wasn't because of her arm. It was because of the enormity of the experience on AR-558 and the losses of those men and women they fought alongside with, and what a hell of a report that made besides the next list of casualties Ben would receive by tomorrow. She knew what he would say exactly, and they were the same words she was thinking right now.

"Behind every name is a person, and it's very important to never forget them or the sacrifices they made," she whispered, laying on her back and looking over to Keevan's peaceful face.

~o~

She and Weyoun had been married for almost two months, and she was happier than she'd ever been, as clichéd as it was, but she didn't care how many times anyone else said those words. She was Weyoun's bride and happy to be so, as much as she was happy to be the mother of his child. She had finished getting dressed and slinging her costume bag over her shoulder before picking Riona up and holding her daughter up so she could see those little lavender eyes glowing with so much life and innocence. This blessed little angel conceived in so much trouble and born during so much trouble, but that was behind them. The Weyoun she was now married to was not the same one who made this little one in her arms.

Mia looked up to see her husband leaving the bedroom, clasping his jacket into place and spotting them. He smiled and walked over to give her a kiss. "Before you remind me, you're getting off early," he said after parting, winking. She was leaving her shift early because tonight they were supposed to have dinner with Keevan and Annora. "I haven't forgotten, Mia. A Vorta never forgets, remember? We always tell each other and ourselves that."

She snorted. "Like that one time you forgot to feed this one..." She held up the baby, bouncing her in her arms slightly. "...before you left, that I asked the computer to transfer the baby formula to Odo's office, right in front of you and your boss, AND your best friend?" she finished with a wink in return. "See?" she asked when he stuck his lower lip out in a pout. "Guilty as charged."

Weyoun chortled and took their child from her. It had been him doing the deed of taking her to work with him since Mia's job wasn't required to do so, even though Quark adored baby Riona, but it would just look improper to see one of his alluring game girls hold a child against her body while she entertained the guests, and Ferengi waiters were not babysitters. Leeta could take over, but she had a job to do herself. And Mia had wanted to ask Annora to take care of Riona until her own baby was born, but from what her friend was saying, things were getting a little difficult with Keevan in his pregnancy - which Weyoun had begun to worry since they were the same race and therefore the same physiology.

It had shocked her at first, but since she was familiar with the Terran version called hermaphroditism, she hadn't been that surprised and understood why Weyoun never once told her about this important detail about his people. So, she asked herself this: why didn't she notice before? She knew his body so well, or so she thought. On their wedding night after Annora and Keevan left, she'd taken her time to explore further down between his legs and saw not only his masculine length, but further down to show the absence of the other part of male anatomy and saw, in its place, the slit that was the female's, and just as sensitive. So if her Weyoun had this, Keevan must have, so to answer the difficult question as to how a male Vorta would give birth.

"I fear for him," Weyoun spoke, reading her thoughts and shaking his head. "Because giving birth for his side of the species won't be easy as it is for a female." Mia sucked in a deep breath as she took the meaning of his words...

"So, Nog comes back tomorrow morning," she told him with a small smile, trying to change the subject as they both left their quarters and made way for the turbolift. "Promenade," she said to the computer, and the doors closed, lowering down the levels. Jake's roommate and best friend had been away for a month now at Starbase 235 for his care, his left leg regenerated. She shuddered as she tried to imagine what would have happened to Annora if her arm had been taken off. When they were children, Annora would break the rules more often than she herself would, and get more than she bargained for, but Annora never once cared. Now, as an adult and in a time of war, Annora was starting to draw a few more lines than she would set for herself.

Her husband was looking down at his feet, shifting on them nervously. "So Jake told me. He's written letters to his friend, expressing his concerns and wishing him well. But from what Jake also expressed, Nog's own stepmother's letters have not been replied to." Weyoun scoffed and shook his head. "Very harsh, if you ask, my love," he said, taking Riona when she started reaching for him. "Leeta _is_ his family, blood or not."

Mia nodded. "Truer words have never been spoken, but Nog will write whenever he feels like it. Daddy wants to throw him a welcome home hero party, and everyone else is eager to welcome him," she said, although with the level of trauma the Ensign endured, she doubted he would be in shape. She'd known a few soldiers to know that their psychological mentality would never be the same. Jake was going to be in for one hell of a recovery process, be as supportive and understanding as he could, but Ferengi were far more difficult than humans.

The day passed by, and she was helping Weyoun get ready to set the dinner table for the rest of the family. When the door finally chimed, she called for the guests to come in, and when they did, she pushed her hair behind her shoulder and greeted Annora and a very pregnant Keevan who looked like he could be eight Terran months along. Annora's dress was gorgeous silver with beading all over and her hair held up, while Mia was in an exquisite rose-colored dress with a lace bodice and a flowing sheer skirt with her mane flying wild. "Mia, you look very delightful," Keevan commented when he looked her over and accepted her hand gracefully, though not bringing it up to kiss. He was very polite with her, but she hadn't had the time to spend much with him, her best friend's second husband. She never got to meet Jeffrey O'Neal, but all she knew was that Annora and he were never right for each other, and Keevan was the solution to all her problems, but Mia could only imagine the long separation and heartache they endured. Like her and Weyoun.

The evening passed by smoothly with the four of them, Riona between both parents and constantly fussing about being fed which made all of them laugh. She had stopped crying only four nights ago in the wee hours of the early morning, which was sooner than the average infant, but she was only half Vorta, which was natural. Vorta infants never cried at night, either, except only in the first week.

During the evening, she got to know Keevan a little better and was happy to still know he had come to his senses earlier than her Weyoun when he realized the Founders were demons that needed to be defeated. He was much younger and caught on quickly, just like she felt she still was even though she was a mother now, experience wisening her up that she had a family to protect, that she would do anything for, which she went over with Annora and her husband, who had suddenly started developing an insatiable appetite over the dinner which was a Terran menu of steak and potatoes. He couldn't even taste it, but he started wanting more and more.

 _Third month is incurable appetite,_ Weyoun sent to her. _He's going to want more and more food at all hours of each day no matter what. Odo won't be happy to put up with this, I know it._

~o~

 _By the gods, I want more kava fruit._

Annora sighed and lowered her head. _Just when Nog comes home on medical leave, you're hungry again._ She didn't mean to sound so mean, but he'd eaten before they left, not that Keevan could ever help this. He didn't like this any more than she did, and it was killing him. It started since last night at Weyoun and Mia's place, coming without warning. He couldn't even taste the dinner she made, but his appetite started up without warning that he asked for more from the replicator just to spare Mia the trouble.

 _You're mad at me,_ he stated. It was obvious enough; she wasn't pregnant anymore, but a female got frustrated more easily when anything over a long period of time took a toll on her mental state. Keevan was burdened with this enough himself. He hated being pregnant and wanted the baby born soon, the next and final stage in this condition was worse than this one. At least he wasn't starving himself, which a human could do sometimes because they felt that they would get sick if they ate too much. A Vorta never got ill from too much eating.

She was looking at him with hurt evident in her eyes. _No, I'm not mad. I'm sorry._ She leaned up and kissed his chin, and he tried to return it only for her to giggle and slip away from him. _Just that these hunger pains come out of the blue when you least expect it. A human female gets food cravings like different odd combinations, but not nearly every hour of the day. That's why I'm a little agitated._

He and Annora were approaching the small group which was Weyoun and his family, Jake Sisko amongst now. He heard Jake asking what if he said something wrong, and all he wanted was to have his best friend home to recuperate. Keevan couldn't help but feel a sense of empathy for the young Ensign. Nog who was amongst the Ferengi group with him on Empok Nor, long before that on that desert planet, and Annora speaking admirably of him as a friend for herself, so Keevan felt he deserved to be a part of what she and the others wanted to give to Nog.

"Nog lost a leg, which traumatizes just about anyone," Mia spoke cradling the baby as they all joined the rest in the cargo bay, doing what she did best in assuring all of them. "Nothing we say or do will be worse than that, I don't think." She raised her voice for everyone to hear, grinning from ear to ear. "Everyone, just be happy to see Nog and tell him we love him."

"She's right," Major Kira called, putting her hand over her stomach the same way Keevan did - she was pregnant, having a donated seed placed into her womb two weeks prior so she and Odo could have a child of their own - and announcing that that Nog's ship had docked.

First, fellow officers disembarked, but then whispers sounded with concern as to whether or not this was the right passenger ship, which Kira confirmed that it _was_ \- and then Leeta piped up that _he_ was coming. Keevan followed everyone's eyes to see the limping figure on a cane with his bag slung over his left arm, the same side his leg had been regenerated.

Nog was trying his best to retain his straight posture, trying to hold his head high as he returned to his family and colleagues, but the wince on his face told another story. Losing his leg had changed everything about him from the earnest young cadet Keevan remembered to a tortured soul who needed to be put back on his track. He looked around to see the others noticing so themselves but were also hopeful for him. Major Kira looked like she was trying not to cry, Lt. Dax the same.

And Captain Sisko - there was no mistaking the relief that one of his best, one of the youngest recruits returned intact and caring about him like a son, just like his own. Quark accused the captain of not caring, but that was a lie. Keevan had come to know the captain even if the man was still working to accept him and Weyoun who was his own son-in-law, but the improvements were showing.

After he finished being welcomed back by him and the crew, he turned to Sisko, handing him a PADD. "My orders, Captain."

"Medical leave," Sisko stated, slightly shocked. "How can that be?"

Chief O'Brien sounded slightly joking. "Sounds like an excuse to laze around while the rest of us work." Everyone laughed with him, Dr. Bashir "prescribing" hard work and plenty of rest, and Odo piquing that "maybe he _forged_ those orders". Nevertheless, Captain Sisko waved it off and read the orders out loud.

"I'm afraid they're genuine. 'Ensign Nog has no duties until further notice' - except to attend a welcome home party in the wardroom," he said, tucking the PADD underneath his arm and clapping until the others began to, but Nog didn't look cheered.

"If it's anything to you, sir, I'm really tired." The way he spoke it was genuine fatigue...and an underline of jade because of whatever form of treatment he underwent at the medical base. "I'm really tired and would like to go to my quarters."

Dax spoke up before Sisko could answer. "Sounds reasonable, Ben. We can celebrate once he's settled in."

Jake offered to take his roommate's bags, but Nog declined, moving forward and still limping. Keevan would never forget the image of the young Ferengi limping on his cane as he made way for the doors, and the rest of the crew and family noticing the evident change in the Nog they remembered - those who had been in battle would not mistake it, but Nog's family began to genuinely worry for him. And Keevan began to share their obvious concern.

Nog had transformed altogether.

 **When I saw "It's Only a Paper Moon", it reminded me so much of other men and women who lost something of themselves in battle, and it's also because my father served in the army, but he's retired now. Still, the scars remain with you. Nog's story of recuperation is intense and real, and will progress into the next chapter.**

 **As you saw, Kira Nerys is now pregnant with her own child. :) Since Odo can't give her a child himself, I thought a sperm donor was appropriate and more sensible, but I don't know who the donor was. XD I had this mentioned in the last story, thought it would be revealed towards the end but I couldn't figure it out. I suppose it will come eventually.**


	31. Holosuites and Recuperation Difficulties

Chapter Thirty

Holosuites and Recuperation Difficulties

Nog had been home for three days, but Jake was getting nowhere with him. His best friend whom he'd known for almost six years had barely spoken a word to him, refused anything Jake tried to do for him such as food and a trip to the holosuite together, or perhaps dinner with the family - his dad had invited Nog as he did the rest - but Nog had claimed to be tired to attend a family evening. Even his parents couldn't do anything to force their son, including Uncle Quark.

Nothing was working out with Nog, and it was driving Jake insane. He really wanted to help his best friend get better, but it wasn't like he was a soldier, too. He'd been with Dr. Bashir that one time, helping with the injured and dying and seeing more than he ever did in his life, but how could he know the true pain until he'd lost a limb himself? He'd been asked that once himself, asked himself that question so many times, but never did he think it would _really_ happen to Nog.

Annora O'Neal, Mia's best friend and Jake's, should you say, new colleague in the Federation News Service, had tried to talk to him in a sort of counseling session which hadn't gone much of anywhere. She'd spoken to Jake about it after she left Nog be, keeping her voice lowered. She'd been there when Nog had been shot, having taken a blow herself but not as unfortunately serious. "He says that his doctors called it in his imagination, the pain he feels in his bio-synthetic leg which works just fine," she'd whispered, the both of them outside the doors to their quarters, "and you should have seen his face. He was really angry, Jake. I tried telling him to forget what the doctors think and to believe in himself, but he's too deep within himself. He needs the cane because of it, to keep the full weight from taking over." She shrugged, failing to even smile to lighten it up. If Mia were here now instead of at work, she would have fully smiled.

So, in other words, Nog wanted nothing to do with her voluntary counseling sessions just because she'd been with him, getting shot as he did, but her arm was still intact. He'd spent three weeks with counselors at Starbase 235 and didn't want anymore telling him he was imagining his agony that their tricorders couldn't find.

"I just want to be left alone," he'd said to both Annora _and_ Jake, the latter who shared the same quarters as he did. Well, Jake did just that, but for three nights and days in a row, he'd come home to hear the music coming from Nog's bedroom to hear the same song over and over. The song which began with Dr. Bashir playing it on AR-558 for his patients, Vic Fontaine's "I'll Be Seeing You". Jake didn't mind at first, but now his patience was wearing off. He could hear the soundwaves and lyrics penetrating the walls and reaching his ears even at night when he tried to sleep.

Tonight, on the third night, enough was enough.

"Nog!" He stalked into the Ferengi's room in which the music was still playing beside his bed. "I am _trying_ to be understanding and I WANT to be your friend, but -" He reached to the player and pulled the data crystal out. "- _enough is ENOUGH_." Jake gritted his teeth and glared down at his friend's face, the eyes closed and unresponsive until Jake snapped, "You've been playing that same stupid song for _three days._ I can't take it anymore."

Nog glared back at him from the corner of his eyes but said nothing. Jake sighed in exasperation; he didn't want to lose his first and only best friend in the universe because of _this._ "Well, aren't you gonna say anything? You barely said three words to me since you came home."

"Maybe I don't have anything to say."

Jake gaped. That - _nothing?!_ No words, just like that? Just as he hadn't talked to Annora or Mia, or perhaps Weyoun who could be very persuasive, or his own family? "I'm trying to help you, Nog, but you're not making it easy."

The Ferengi turned his head upwards, face impassive and hard. "You want to help?" he asked, just as impassively. "Leave me alone."

He wasn't dealing with this anymore tonight - or ANY night and day to follow from now on. He picked up the data crystal that held that idiotic song which rattled Jake's nerves. If this was what made his friend feel better, so be it, but he was done listening to it. "You want to hear this stupid song if it helps? Go into a holosuite."

~o~

"My son is insane!" Rom was complaining, much as his wife was trying to get him to stop. "A one-legged crazy man!" He sat down between Leeta and Jadzia in the wardroom, with Benjamin in his place at the head of the table. On the other side were Jake, Mia and Weyoun, as well as Dr. Bashir, and Annora and Keevan. His son-in-law fixed Rom with firm, glowing violet eyes the way Ben and the others always dealt with him - his predecessor, namely, who was the majority of their problems - in the past.

Weyoun leaned across the table and folded his hands in front of him like a counselor that Ben wondered why he couldn't become a psychologist. He'd have done a fine job at it. "Rom, your son is in no way crazy. If you ask me, he took a rational method when none of us could do the miracles."

"But he IS living in a holosuite," Benjamin pointed out. Nog living in Bashir's program and with Vic Fontaine in the sixties of all people was one step to take, but a strange one. He looked to Dax, asking her opinion. She shrugged.

"Well, it did strike me as peculiar, Ben, but I'm not a counselor as you know. I agree with Weyoun; this might be a good sign after all."

Quark looked her way and snorted, glancing back at Sisko. "How can we be sure one of Julian's adolescent programs be a good sign?" The doctor went wide-eyed and exclaimed "Hey!"

"Well," Jake piped up, "it could be worse. He could be hiding in the Alamo program."

"Or that ridiculous secret agent program," Leeta said, cracking a wink of her own in front of her ex, and then it was her husband's turn.

"Or that stupid Vikings program!"

"Hey!" Bashir exclaimed, glaring at them all, and Sisko had enough of this bickering back and forth.

"All right!" he said, and the room was quiet. There was no counselor on board, so there were only two people in this room he could count on at the present. Ignoring Jadzia this time, he looked over to Weyoun. "Are you sure this could be in Nog's best interests?" If nothing else that Dr. Bashir could do, then this had to be a last resort. Being in the service for years, physical and mental therapeutical methods were complicated to help the suffering recover.

Weyoun sighed and lowered his eyes. "No, Captain, I regret I am not sure." His wife then piped up, having some knowledge of psychology herself.

"Dad, if I may, Nog might be subconsciously trying to seek out his own form of therapy. Moving into a holosuite might not be any of our ideas of therapy, so I know it's odd." Her head snapped in Quark's direction when he chided her.

"It sounds ridiculous, Mia."

Mia snapped back when someone spoke to her like that, but Bashir was in defense, face scrutinizing in thought. "No, not really. I'm inclining to agree with Mia on this one," he said to Benjamin. "The mind has a strong, natural instinct for survival. And for whatever reason, Nog's mind has chosen to take shelter in the world of Vic Fontaine."

"Because of that song you played for him, Julian," Annora said with a little smile, having not spoken her part yet. "But because he spent some time in the holosuite to listen, then he must have found Vic's club to be his new private sanctuary." Everyone was agreeing with her, even Ben himself now that this was starting to come together, but Jadzia wasn't done.

"Captain, I think we ought to wait and see how this plays out."

Sisko nodded. Now that this was settled, someone should talk to Vic, their holographic friend even though he was fictional, and make him aware of Nog's emotional and physical condition.

And to everyone's surprise, it was Mia who volunteered. "I'll do it, Dad. I've known Nog just as long as everyone else and some knowledge of the subject." As well as some of Dr. Bashir's medical expertise. Her husband looked her way, but Ben couldn't read his son-in-law's face other than the frown, reminding her about the baby. But before Ben could dwell on his family matters, there was Quark's "voice of reason".

"And _who_ is going to pay for all of this holosuite time?" All eyes were on him, making him try not to roll his eyes. "I guess I am."

"And it's very generous of you." Ben stood up and looked across the table to his daughter. "Keep me informed."

~o~

When she volunteered to help Nog since she knew him as well as Jake did, she started to second-guess herself before she paused her train of thought. She had promised her father, Jake, Julian and the rest she would check up on Nog once in awhile, and she would carry it out.

The sixties were a retro for her, even though she didn't really care much about that era, and jazz wasn't one hundred percent a favorite music, but that didn't stop her from meeting Vic Fontaine, the man of Julian's prized program who was like a good friend to all of them, knowing his way through everything and anything new that came his way. Even Quark liked him sometimes. "I get it," Vic was saying as he walked Mia through his club; today Weyoun was taking the baby so she could spend the day in her grandfather's office, giving her daddy the day off and wishing she could bring Riona with her to meet Vic, "he's got some healing to do. It's been about that the moment he walked in here; I could see it in his eyes when he had a hard time looking at me."

Mia was happy that the man understood the psychological process, but that didn't mean she could leave a detail unspoken. "Great that you understand, but do you have any questions?" she asked sweetly.

"You sure about him not needing the cane? Because the kid is pretty sure he does."

It had been her suggestion that Nog didn't need the cane, because if the pain was really in his head, then he shouldn't need it while he was here in this fictional world. "I'm positive. It's a psychological need, not physical, but I wouldn't accuse him of imagining like his doctors did," she added apologetically.

Vic nodded. "Well, then I have some ideas on how to lean him off the stick," he told her happily.

"Okay, but don't push it," she said, lifting a finger to his face, making him grin.

"Do I seem pushy to you?" he teased.

"Of course not." She looked down at the time and saw she needed to get back to work. Her dabo table needed her. "Well, you know how to reach me. I best get going."

"I got your number, _Mrs._ Weyoun," Vic said with a devious wink, and she returned it before walking out the front door.

~o~

Annora had decided to pay Mia a visit that evening when Weyoun was working late with Odo for the second time this month, and Keevan was so tired he went straight to bed which Odo let him off for because he was pregnant. Baby Riona was still with Ben, and Jake had a date tonight with a girl named Kesha whom he met not too long ago, deciding to take her to Vic Fontaine's holosuite club.

"We're going to have a girl's night at Quark's for the first time in a long time," Mia told her, having changed from her revealing belly dancer-like costume into a soft lilac tight suit which opened at the neck to show some of her chest and her favorite opal-and-tanzanite necklace. "Quark, let's have two tall glasses of Stardusters. Both are on me."

The Ferengi burst out laughing as he got right to it as the two women perched themselves up at his bar stand, shaking his head. "Drinking for the first time here since the little runt popped out of you, Mia? I'm surprised you didn't sooner, or I would have given you both a post-baby present - with a price of course," he added with a wink, making her snort and hand Annora her tall glass and taking her own last.

"Funny, Quark."

Annora found herself looking into her friend's eyes when they said cheers, clicking their glasses together for happily married lives despite wartime, seeing the contrast of eye color; Mia's right was natural brown as she was originally from Puerto Rico, and her left was blue which had been the closest replacement to the one Mia lost in an accident when they were ten years old, involving a pair of scissors that stabbed Mia in the left eye and would have killed her. The girls had been doing a project for school together at the Sisko house while Lt. Commander Antonio Delgado - Mia's birth father long before he died that fateful day - was away, and Annora remembered screaming for the Siskos; Ben hadn't been around, and Jennifer, his late wife, had been nearby and rushed them with great speed. It was a miracle Mia survived, but Annora's parents punished her severely even though she'd been assured it was only an accident. She also remembered how Commander Delgado had forgiven her, but Benjamin hadn't been so thrilled; thankfully he wasn't as harsh as Annora's parents.

Mia saw the way her eyes were moving. She stopped sipping her drink and sighed. "Please tell me you're not still fussing over what happened when we were ten. My new eye was better than none at all, and we were just kids. They do stupid things all the time."

"I could have killed you! I was so blind to have not watched where I was going, should have paid attention to the way I held the scissors -"

"And that's all they were, a pair of scissors! Besides, they couldn't even get me my correct eye color -" Mia motioned over that side of her face with her free hand. "- so this one has become a part of me. I knew you didn't mean to, and so I ask when are you going to let this go? We are adults now, Annora. And poking an eye out is one of the silliest things to still mull over."

Annora shook her head. Mia was right; the past was the past, but very few people knew this side of her, and it was a side she almost never brought up to herself. She sometimes hated herself for almost killing her friend like that, but Mia was right yet again: children did foolish things all the time. "You're right, I'm sorry -"

But Mia was no longer looking at her, but past her shoulder. "Jake! Oh, God, what's going on?"

Her brother was descending the stairs with his date, Kesha, in tow, face tight with anger and the girl biting her lip nervously. He looked up when he saw his sister stand from the bar and walk his way. He held up his hand and shook his head. "Not now, Mia. I've had enough of Nog that I don't know if I should talk about it."

Hearing this, Annora realized that the situation with Nog must be getting worse, and Mia, his volunteer counselor, sensed it, too. "Should I ask?" she asked. Annora remained where she was as Mia brought her brother and his date over to the bar for some more drinks to relax.

Jake scoffed and reached up to rub his eyes. Kesha hugged him from behind and told him good night before smiling at Mia and Annora and leaving. Once she was gone, he exhaled and looked up at them both. "I can't believe it, you guys, I just can't believe it! I brought Kesha to meet him, just a night of fun, and he had to behave the way he did. All she did was call him a hero and he just lost it. I feel like I don't know him anymore even though I knew he wasn't the Nog I knew anymore. But he was such a jerk! He attacked me in Vic's club because I talked back to him. Just, agh!" He threw his hands up in the air in agitation, almost knocking the drink handed to him from Quark over before he controlled himself. "Sorry," he muttered to both the Ferengi and to the women.

Mia frowned over her glass back to her lips. "Seems like I'll have to talk to Vic then. Annora, you want to come with?"

Annora had been assessing the situation in her mind the entire time she listened to Jake speak. Nog had punched his best friend for his maybe-girlfriend called him a HERO? She ought to not compliment a Ferengi then, and wouldn't be surprised if Vic Fontaine did the same, if he were questioning his guest right now. Perhaps he was gone for too long; it had been barely a week since Nog began to spend time in the holosuite, and it had been awhile since Annora was in one. Next time Mia visited Vic Fontaine, she looked forward to meeting him.

~o~

So, after Annora suggested that Nog was spending the days and nights too long in Vic's holosuite, perhaps enough was enough. Mia needed to talk to Vic so they could try to get Nog to leave. But this time, she brought baby Riona with her. It wasn't like they would be here for very long; she just needed to speak to Vic, who was currently at one of the round tables with some of his friends, engrossing them with one of his stories, but upon seeing her, he ceased talking and excused himself, marching up to her.

"Well, doll face, good to see you again. And who might this other lovely lady be?" he asked when his eyes landed on Annora, laughing when Riona cooed and reached for him. "And this must be Riona. She's cuter than I imagined her, Mommy," he teased Mia, who couldn't help but laugh at the compliment before introducing her best friend.

"This is Annora, my best friend. And Annora, you know who this is."

Annora held Riona in one arm as she extended the other to shake the man's hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Fontaine."

"Oh, please." He waved his hand at her in dismissal. "Vic does just fine. So, Mia, Nog is doing just fine. He's still working in our room, putting that Ferengi business bloodline to good use with the receipts from '61. That kid's a hell of an accountant. He said the government owes me money, can you believe that?"

Well, it was good to know that he was doing something with his business blood, putting it to good use as Vic said, but it wasn't real business unlike the kind his uncle did outside these walls. "I need to talk to him."

The smile fell from Vic's face. "Can it wait?" The question and his tone held no impatience, but he insisted she listen to him.

"I'm afraid not," Mia responded, equally patient. "It has nothing to do with my brother Jake, but I think it's time for Nog to leave the holosuite."

"But wait a minute. He likes it here." Vic didn't seem like he was purposefully refusing her, just that Nog was doing so good here that he needed more time, but time wasn't enough any longer. The holosuite had done enough that Nog needed to start being around her and the others again. He was losing touch enough as it was. Garak and Ziyal were getting married in a few days that he was going to miss seeing the bride in her beautiful lace dress with the sheer sleeves and hugging figure if he didn't rejoin them for that special day for the tailor and his half Cardassian, half Bajoran bride.

"I know you're making progress," Mia said, trying to keep her patience on level, "but Vic, you have to understand he can't hide in here forever. He has to face reality sometime." Unfortunately, the casino owner wasn't backing down.

"The kid has had too much reality lately, if you ask me. He's lost a leg, he's watched good friends die. Like you said, we shouldn't push him until it's time to heal."

Perfect, just perfect. What could she say now? She looked behind her when Annora stepped in, the baby's hand in her own mouth as she watched the conversation but unable to understand. "Vic, no offense but you're just a hologram, and Mia is his counselor if not one officially licensed. Which means she outranks you."

Vic grinned back at her with the new card he revealed. "He's on medical leave, ladies. And according to Starfleet regulations, he can spend it wherever he chooses."

Mia gaped; how did he know that? "I told him," a voice said from behind, and it was Nog. He came up to her, standing up to her face with his tight and scowling. "And Amelia, if you try to force me to leave, I will resign my commission."

He'd spent all his time here and was threatening to leave the Federation all because he wouldn't leave? "Now, wait, no one is talking about forcing you to do anything!" Mia protested, now feeling the blow he targeted for her now. Now Nog was smiling.

"Good, because Vic and I have big plans."

~o~

He had worked a little overtime tonight, unlike Keevan who had gone home earlier than normal because the hunger issue was getting all the more uncontrollable. Weyoun considered stopping by after his shift was over to pay him a visit, just to check up. But first, he had to pick up his daughter as her mother wasn't home yet. He had to admit he felt anticipated to see his father-in-law again.

He entered Ops and called a greeting to the entire crew, receiving the greetings in return, before reaching the captain's office and buzzing. The owner called for him to enter, and when he did, he saw the captain in his chair, behind his desk, with the baby in his arms and teasing her with his baseball he kept on the edge of his desk. Weyoun stood where he was, folding his arms across his chest and smiled. When Sisko looked up and saw him, he started laughing. "Has she been giving you a difficult time, Captain?" Weyoun asked coyly.

"She's been getting my attention so much that I barely got anything done today," Benjamin answered, bouncing his granddaughter up and down in his arms, making her laugh. "She's a little troublemaker, just like both of her parents."

Weyoun laughed again and walked over, around the desk, reaching for Riona and taking her into his arms. "How's Mia holding up?" Sisko asked him, making him shrug as he recalled and spoke the news progress she gave him regarding Nog in Dr. Bashir's program, which was doing good for him but was consuming him too much that it prevented him from returning to his life. Weyoun could have thought of many other ways to help a wounded warrior from battle, but while he'd served the Dominion, the Jem'Hadar only fought and died, no treatment, and new ones were bred each day.

Sisko sighed heavily and shook his head. "I know Mia is doing the best she can, but now I'm worrying for Nog. He's too driven into himself now. Tomorrow is Garak and Ziyal's wedding, and no one can get him to leave. I feel if he keeps himself in there any longer, he'll most likely die in there."

Weyoun knew the meaning behind his father-in-law's words. The more time Nog spent in that holosuite, he might not die physically and enter the Ferengi afterlife, but he would die in his mind, shut down and become a broken shell of who he was, spending too much time in a fictional world. Imagination could also be very deadly. He nodded wordlessly and started to leave when Sisko called him back. "Oh, and Weyoun, one more thing." He looked back to see the man smiling at him. "We're family now, so don't call me Captain when we're alone. Call me Benjamin, or Ben."

He was invited to the wedding, of course, but along the way, he received some of the glares from people around him. It hadn't changed that some of them hated him for the occupation of their home, but that was Weyoun 5, not him. How many would even believe that? Not very many would see him differently just because he'd married the captain's daughter and fathered her child. He stayed with his family the entire time they'd made it to the Bajoran shrine just to watch the ceremony performed. Elim Garak and Tora Ziyal - his predecessor would have laughed it off that Gul Dukat's daughter was getting married to a sworn enemy of Cardassia, but Ziyal was only half Cardassian. She'd wanted a traditional Bajoran ceremony; she'd told Mia who in return gave the news to Weyoun. Kira Nerys had walked her down the aisle to her husband-to-be, soft and refined without embellishment, and Weyoun appreciated that much. He stood with his family and the rest of the crew, and some other Bajoran witnesses, as bride and groom were joined together despite one of them being a former enemy to their people and the other being the offspring of another.

However, there was only one person missing from the joyful moment, as they all feared. Mia leaned into Weyoun's ear and whispered it to him. "Nog couldn't come...again."

 **Only two more chapters to go in this story, so yes it's official that it will be as long as its predecessor. :) I enjoyed this couple much as I enjoyed Weyoun and Mia, and the same will happen when the time comes for Yelgrun and Lynet in the next and final in the trilogy.**

 **When I was a baby and my dad was going to college for a year, I'd crawled over his studies that he NEVER got anything done. XD**

 **Just recently, I enjoyed three other different guest star roles that Christopher Shea (Keevan) was in. One was the sixteenth episode of season 3 of "Charmed", "Death Takes a Halliwell", in which he played this vampire-demon - one of two - who gathered information by feeding on a victim's brain stem. Three words to describe him: suave, sexy, beastly. ;)**

 **Another was the third episode of "Cold Case" season 1, named "Our Boy is Back", in which he played a young man who had a crush on his neighbor who already had a boyfriend, and sometime later, he heard a disturbance where she lived and dialed 911, but she'd been raped and killed. He had nothing to do with her death, and I have to say this guy was so sweet and decent. :)**

 **The third and newest was "Bad Words" from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, though I forgot the season and episode numbers, but the year was 2004. Anyways, Shea's character seemed like he was really decent but turned out to be not so. Let's keep it that way. I don't know why he's not in more stuff, because he's just as good as Jeffrey Combs.**


	32. The Beginning of Restoration

**I'd just read the story "Defect" by PsilentAsInCjelli, which is an AU of Weyoun 6's survival, and the latest chapter of that incomplete story was Weyoun meeting Yelgrun who is imprisoned in Starfleet and offers to take him into the Federation, as it's clear the latter Vorta is done with the Dominion as Keevan had been, accusing his former affiliation of leaving him to rot as they did Keevan. It was inspiration for Yelgrun in here, but I'm trying not to make this TOO much like that situation.**

 **I apologize for the long wait even though it was just five days. I started writing "The Perfumed Garden", a new Weyoun fic I will start publishing as soon as I finish this one. :D**

Chapter Thirty-One

The Beginning of Restoration

Not only did Nog miss Garak and Ziyal's wedding, but he also missed his own father's party for his promotion of Maintenance Engineer First Class. He'd missed out more than everyone thought. Keevan could see how much it was doing to his wife when she came back starting that one night from Quark's bar, then spending the day with Keevan, and then Mia not only keeping her father and Dr. Bashir informed, she also broke the word to Annora who passed it down to him, as it all worked. Nog was definitely improving in his chosen therapeutical environment...but it was keeping him from coming out.

It had been six days since the fight between Jake and Nog. Jake hadn't bothered to go back, as far as Keevan knew, which made him wonder if their friendship was on an even greater strain than ever; he cared for those two simply because of how he and Weyoun were tighter than ever, like the brothers they were. A friendship like that was too powerful to be destroyed, so Jake and Nog's shouldn't end just because the latter was struggling to readjust.

Right now he was in the bath with Annora, his back resting against her while she soaped their bodies up, caressed his chest, shoulders and neck, relaxing his muscles and giving him special treatment. The water smelled of some flowers from Earth called cherry blossoms, and it was calming, serene to the senses. He sighed and leaned further into her. "You like that?" she lulled, pressing herself up in return so her breasts massaged his back.

Keevan moaned. "Yes, don't stop."

"Wouldn't dream of it." She pressed a kiss to his ear while massaging one shoulder with one hand and running her other over his swollen abdomen. One more month to go, and the worst of them all for himself was coming. He wouldn't be able to start moving around, just lie in bed all day until the child was born. _Which means I will be babying you more often,_ Annora teased through their link, biting his lobe gently and making him shudder. She wasn't trying to arouse him, just to simply pleasure him before bed. _Still the same as ever?_

 _You have no idea. The worst coming next month, like I keep reminding myself. You human women are lucky to not have loss of circulation in your limbs._

"Odo ought to keep you home for the month, then. Give you maternity leave. It happens on Earth; for all we know, the baby can always come sooner than we think, and we can't have you going into labor at a random time. Best stay in bed so you're nice and comfortable," she purred when she started to stroke his ears harder; how could she do this to him? "Because if we can't move you to the infirmary, we can bring Julian and his team in to have a home birth. My mother had me in a home birth."

He turned his head around to look at her and smirked. Home birth for his wife? That suited for her, and to think about himself bringing their child out in their quarters with Dr. Bashir helping? That sounded fitting, but then to think of all that blood to leave his body - he began to panic right away. Losing so much blood...he could DIE from that.

Annora interrupted his thoughts by putting a hand over his mouth even though he never spoke. "Keevan, don't think about that. Dr. Bashir won't let you die on me." She leaned in and kissed him then. "You won't ever leave me again, I promise you that." He leaned against her then, her heartbeat piercing his eardrums and touching his soul which was forever tied with hers.

 _Remember our first time together, taking a bath underneath the sun?_

 _That was the best time of my life, one of the happiest days I've ever spent with you._

 _Naked in the oasis, holding onto each other for dear life, the sun scorching down on us, never wanting to let go..._

There was a buzz on the door to their quarters. "Oh, who could that be?" Keevan asked in spite of himself. Annora shook her head and slid out from under him and grabbed her towel to wrap around herself.

"I'll be right back," she said, exiting through the opened doorway and then calling out for whoever it was. Keevan's hearing picked up everything, even her surprise at the unexpected but welcomed guest. "Mia, hi! I was in the bath with Keevan."

"I see that," the other woman answered. "How is he?"

"He's doing great, but not looking forward to the final month," Annora answered glumly. "But what about you?"

"Oh!" Mia exclaimed, remembering why she was here at this nearly late hour. "I had just gotten off work when I ran into Nog; Vic had cut the program and tried to force Nog back to the real world, although he was so scared he tried to tamper into the system and bring him back, which Chief O'Brien had come to see him about and explained that Vic could close the program anytime he wanted, too. And..." She paused there, swallowing as she hesitated with her next words.

"Nog's kept all of this from the counseling sessions, especially me. That's why I know this now and it makes sense, but I'm hesitant about taking this to Dad and Julian, especially Jake. He really broke down and cried when he confessed it to Vic. When the war began, he - like Jake and myself - thought he would make it without a scratch, because he made it alive although witnessed everyone around him hurt or killed. Until what happened at AR-558, and now he's fearful of losing his sanity because his leg was taken from him." Her voice was quivering now that it made Keevan shiver despite the warm bathwater, and it was doing the same to Annora. He held onto the edge, wrapping his arms around the rim the best he could for dear life, as he sensed her take her friend into her arms when Mia began to cry softly for her brother's best friend. "Oh, he's scared of becoming an official crazy man and that his career might be at an end, or if not that..."

She could no longer finish, but both Annora and Keevan understood what she was trying to say, and it made sense: _He's afraid of dying._

~o~

"Keevan!" Weyoun burst through the door to the quarters his friend and his wife shared, irritated that he'd been called from his duties when Keevan could have gotten his wife, except Annora had traveled off the station _again_ to do an interview regarding the losses of the patrol Deep Space 9 had sent out to the Cardassian border at Admiral Ross's order, because they were short-handed on one ship, three of Sisko's own crewmen gone for the ride. Sisko had become short of one more member on the bridge, and as unwilling as he was thinking it, there WAS one person Weyoun could think of, but it wouldn't be easy to consult with Sisko - and it wouldn't do good for Keevan either, arousing bad memories.

"Weyoun." The younger Vorta was sitting upright on the couch with a collection of PADDs on the glass table, smiling but...worried. "Weyoun, I felt...something. In here." He looked down to where one hand was over his firm, round belly where the baby was. "I don't know what's wrong with the baby..."

Weyoun remembered this from when Mia was pregnant, so this was nothing serious. And Keevan was still picking the timeline steps up. "Oh, this is nothing to worry about," he assured him, sitting down beside him and putting his hand on Keevan's bulge. "The baby's kicking. It's letting you know it is still alive and ready soon to leave."

Beneath his hand came the impact of the tiny foot inside pounding once, twice, against the wall enclosed around it protectively, and the sensation made its carrier - its father - laugh, almost crying when he now knew what it was. "It's kicking," he repeated, amazed. "Weyoun, it feels wonderful." Then his eyes began to soften with sadness that Weyoun knew what it meant: he wished Annora was here to help feel the baby kick.

His comm badge beeped then. _"Odo to Weyoun."_

He removed his hand from Keevan's belly and answered. "Go ahead, Odo." He had stopped called Odo a Founder a long time ago.

 _"Captain Sisko is here in my office. We both wish to speak to you."_

~o~

Only two days later, Annora was home after completing her interview with the families of the lost men and women, then brought home something from a Bajoran restaurant because she didn't feel like ordering from the replicator this time. Something that had true taste because replication could only do so much, except that wasn't the case with Keevan.

Other than the fact it smelled delicious. "Enough for you the entire day," his wife said when she set the items down on the table, noticing him wincing when he lounged himself into the chair. "And tomorrow. I really wanted to stash tonight."

"How very thoughtful, love." The smell of hasperat made him so hungry he wanted to have all of hers, too, but she laughed and shoved his hand away when he tried to take one; she'd gotten fifteen altogether, but right now she was having two. He then noticed that she'd also brought a Terran beverage which was Jake and Mia's favorite and had gotten Nog into some long time ago. "Root beer again." Surprisingly enough, he'd been able to TASTE that, and the feel and sizzle of its spicy sweetness in his mouth made him so happy he always wanted more. Its effect was the same on Weyoun, but according to the mother of the house, Riona was not yet old enough to have what the Terrans called a soda water.

"Are you getting tired of it yet?" Annora teased. "I just hope it doesn't do anything to your sweet tooth anytime soon, just for 'too much'." Keevan scoffed and picked up his napkin to throw at her.

"I'm slowly developing a so-called 'sweet tooth' thanks to this." He took a sip of the sizzling beverage and sighed as it burned pleasantly down his system.

His thoughts were cut off when the door to their quarters buzzed. His nerves rattled at their family take-out being interrupted. "Come in!" Keevan called, failing to keep the irritation from his voice.

"Keevan, Annora -" He turned around with his wife and saw Weyoun there, with Odo beside him. "- we're sorry to interrupt, but Keevan, you have to come with us to security. We had a prisoner transfer from Starfleet Command, and you must see him. He asked for you both, despite me telling him that you would not want to."

Keevan felt his insides freeze at the possibility of _who_ it was that this Starfleet prisoner was. "Yelgrun."

~o~

 _"Hello, Yelgrun."_

 _"Weyoun." The other Vorta remained on his bed against the wall, before the force field between him and the former Dominion ambassador and Odo, who remained behind him with his arms behind his back, watching the prisoner closely and still wondering WHY Weyoun even chose this man. "What, am I supposed to be happy to see you now that I know you're no longer with the Dominion?"_

 _Weyoun laughed; he anticipated that reaction from the former mentor Keevan had before him, and he was happy Keevan was not here, currently. Yelgrun needed to be surveyed first before release could be considered, then cleared with Captain Sisko. "I'm happy to see you, too. I trust Starfleet was not cruel to you?" Odo grunted behind him, then leaned in to whisper and remind him that he needed to get what he needed and leave the rest to him. It had been in Weyoun's mind that Yelgrun was right for the position no matter the past; he remembered very vividly how much the last Weyoun hated Yelgrun for assaulting Keevan all because the young Vorta didn't want him as a lover and despised him for everything he was. It was no surprise because Yelgrun had been loathed by nearly everyone._

 _The other Vorta snorted. "Is that overt politeness supposed to move me or something? After spending six months in a Federation prison cell, not activating my termination implant and despising Keevan for helping put me in here, then learning you were among these people but that there is also_ another _Weyoun still within the Dominion - that makes two in existence," he purred, raising both brows as his smile was very tight and unpleasant, but Weyoun was not intimidated, until it all fell into a bitter mask, "and that leaves one more thing."_

 _"And what is that?" Odo asked when Weyoun couldn't, though having the slightest idea until it was confirmed._

 _"My wife, who is still a prisoner on Cardassia Prime."_

 _Odo sucked in a breath the same time Weyoun did. Both men were thinking the same: Yelgrun had a WIFE? As if reading their thoughts, the prisoner nodded and laughed. "Yes, I have a mate now. For over a year, but ever since the Founder sent me to Empok Nor, I was taken away from her. She's still on Cardassia, still alive but for who knows how much longer."_

 _In all the years he'd known Yelgrun, he never thought the abhorrent Vorta Field Supervisor would ever hit the jackpot in the mate department. Yelgrun lacked company of females without even trying, and it made Weyoun wonder how he managed this time. But what mattered now was that she was still in enemy territory, and he couldn't help but compare it to himself and Mia, as well as Annora and Keevan. "We'll do something soon, I assure you," he said, trying to keep calm but knew Yelgrun wasn't, "but first we must discuss what you will be doing here aboard Deep Space 9 now that you yourself are no longer a member of the Dominion."_

 _"Are you offering me a...position?" Yelgrun was eyeing him more suspiciously now, disbelieving. "I'm supposed to thank you for this? You sure I won't find means to sneak coded word to Cardassia for the Founder and the forces to return?" He folded his arms across his chest and continued to glower. Weyoun returned the expression and gesture._

 _"If I said no, I would be lying," he said smoothly. "I spoke to Odo here and Captain Sisko. You were arranged to be transferred from Starfleet Command to here, but not as a prisoner. Your 'wardens' have monitored you and saw you as no danger, analyzed you as no use just being there, unlike Keevan who actually provided useful information seeing as you had nothing to give them to help us."_

 _"Because I had_ nothing _useful, as you put it," Yelgrun said suavely, eyes drooping out of boredom. "Now, this conversation has gone on too long. What will I be doing here freely from the Dominion from now on, while my wife is alone and vulnerable on the other side of the quadrant?"_

~o~

Yelgrun.

The name made Annora churn at the pit of her stomach. She looked over at Keevan, who turned his back to both Weyoun and Odo, both men taking this as Keevan's refusal as he sent to her. _I absolutely thought I would never see him again. Not after our past and what happened at Empok Nor. Why did Captain Sisko even consider bringing him here?!_

"It was actually...me," Weyoun confessed to them both when Keevan turned back to ask him the question. "There was difficulty finding a new man to fill the post of one we lost on the bridge, and Yelgrun was the first name to come to mind." He sounded guilty but also sure of this, but Keevan lost it, disagreeing altogether. He stood abruptly and glared at Weyoun firsthand.

"Weyoun, there were plenty of other opportunities that you had to think of our sworn enemy -"

Annora quickly stood up and moved to his side, worried about him losing too much control that could make him lose the baby. "Keevan, baby, please don't strain yourself. Have a seat down and we can all talk about this," she said to Odo and Weyoun, the former who huffed.

"Believe me, Annora, I told Yelgrun that neither of you would want to so much as have a word, much less see each other, but he still insisted. Captain Sisko will have him begin as soon as tomorrow on the bridge. Neither of you will see him much," he assured them both, a smile finally forming on Weyoun's face in agreement. But then it was gone from both of them.

"He wants to see you both now. We'll keep it monitored."

Annora wasn't sure about this, still. She didn't want to see Keevan's former assailant any more than he did, but it was clear Yelgrun would not give up without a fight. She looked at Keevan and shook her head disgustedly. "Well, why the hell not?" she asked bitterly. "He won't leave us be, will he?" The others shook their heads and led the way out, but not before Keevan grabbed one of his bitten hasperats and took another two, three bites before handing it to Annora to have a bite of her own, making both Odo and Weyoun laugh.

They were both in front of Yelgrun who was sitting at the table in the interrogation room in a matter of time, though Keevan was feeling inwardly vulnerable because his pregnancy was visible for his adversary's eyes to see. In fact, that was the first thing Yelgrun noticed about Keevan. "Who's the father?"

The mockery of a question made her snap, Keevan even more. " _I_ am the father," he said angrily. "Annora is the mother. But now it's here because of the Jem'Hadar who attacked our last home." He spat with the last word.

"I always wondered what happened to you two after our last encounter," Yelgrun said insolently. "Where would my old student and his lover go in midst of wartime? The options are just so limited, but when you think you found the perfect hiding spot, the odds are against you." He smirked and sniffed the air. "But I wasn't as lucky as you were."

"I never thought we would ever see each other again after last time. We captured you with our Ferengi friends," Annora said with a barely stifled laugh at the memory - and his opened mouth at what he implied between himself and Keevan, but that still made her fume, the look in his eyes adding oil to those fires. _I just wanted to kill him then, and how I wish I could for the both of us._ "It was so easy, wasn't it?"

The other Vorta's lip curled as he locked eyes with her. "Easy is an understatement."

Keevan sat down at the table because his back was starting to bother him. "Too easy for you to just come and retrieve me, send your Jem'Hadar back to Dominion territory but two - you must not have been smart enough to see through the Ferengi's trickery," he said wryly, cracking a grin to one side. "Look where it got you, Yelgrun."

"Took me away from my wife on Cardassia," Yelgrun replied without a beat or hesitation. "Now you both know why I didn't kill myself, like you never did. It took me a long time to figure that out." His eyes locked but switched between the couple, the message clear: _And tired of serving shape-shifters who played to be gods over our people._

This surprised them both altogether. Spending six months in a Federation cell, even longer than Keevan...he had a _wife?_ _And he never even got himself a mate,_ Keevan sent to her. "You have a mate," he stated, both hands cradling his stomach as he leaned back. "How can I believe that myself? I remember you too well, Yelgrun, or did you forget that? I swore I would never forgive you for what you did to me," he said angrily. "What makes you think I would now, now that you were taken out of prison and given a position on Captain Sisko's bridge?"

Yelgrun leaned forward, face twisting. He was losing his patience now but he was also not going to stop until he was finished trying to move them. "You don't have to, but I'm telling the truth. But she's trapped on Cardassia and I can't return to her a failure. You and Weyoun - and everyone else - thought I was not capable of loving, but she's more to me than anyone or anything else. She was my reason to survive prison...and she's always with me. You both know what that's like." He was speaking of their unbroken, everlasting bond, that Annora slowly came to the understanding. She felt her head nod on its own, numb slightly. So was Keevan, but because he still hated Yelgrun so much, he was having a hard time letting go of their terrible terms they ended on.

"I'm not going to play a fool and say I don't know that you know what it's like to be betrayed, because ever since I was in detention and remembering the two of you together, it was enough for me to accept that you never wanted me in the start. My wife was actually the beginning of it. She made me forget all of it...she began to make me a better man than I was the one you remember, Keevan."

She had felt herself cracking up the entire time she was listening to his story, a story she and her husband did not want to hear. Now she was glad she did - and then she looked down to her lover, who had leaned over the table and covered his head with his hands. He was crying, trying to cover his ears and block everything out. She reached over and rubbed his back, trying to calm him down, but he only sobbed harder. His former teacher before Weyoun, the one who assaulted him for not returning feelings - for _betraying_ him, as Yelgrun put it - and who would have brought him back to the Dominion if the Ferengi had not helped, as well as Annora who was the mother of his child...

Yelgrun had _abandoned_ the Dominion as Keevan did. As Weyoun did - but there was still another over there -

They were all the first three Vorta to escape the tyrants who enslaved their people. They were free men, slowly becoming heroes in a matter of time, now coming together on the very station full of people trying to defeat the evil Dominion. Annora could see it all, and so was her best friend Mia, happening, and it made her swell inside. _My love, believe him. This is just like you and I._

 _You said that to me once with the Ferengi_. Keevan inhaled, still shaking, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down before raising his head to show his face to both of them. A terribly long strain of silence passed before he finally spoke, softly and on the verge of a meltdown, slowly standing up. "I f-f-forgive you."

It wasn't long before a cry tore from his lips, and Keevan doubled over onto the table before falling to the ground.

 **So, Yelgrun has become what Keevan did, a hell of a twist. :) I just hope it was satisfying enough. Yelgrun is more of a challenge than Keevan and Weyoun, and he will be in the upcoming "Chosen for the Marriage Bed" - but I like to be challenged.**

 **Next chapter will be the finale, and longer than the rest of the story was. :) I loved this as much as Weyoun and Mia, and I'll never get tired of saying it. Thank you for being with me on this journey.**

 **I also believe I know why few people review as much as I want them to. :( Weyoun and Keevan, despite being fan favorites, are not very popular. There are TOO few Vorta fans out there, which saddens me.**


	33. When a Child is Born

**The last chapter of this story. Nothing to say other than enjoy. :D**

 **For the entire story, I keep forgetting to tell everyone that Annora means "honor". Very fitting, don't you think? :)**

 **The chapter is also named after a song by Sarah Brightman.**

Chapter Thirty-Two

When a Child is Born

Her husband had landed on the floor before their eyes. She quickly dove for him just as he fell. "Keevan!" _Is the baby coming?!_ There was only less than a month left, and it was still too soon - he interrupted her thoughts.

 _No. I c-can't feel my legs._

She chewed her lip with fright. The final symptom in Vorta pregnancy had come. He was losing the circulation in his limbs. It couldn't have happened at a more perfect time, she thought sarcastically. Just when she and he were beginning to understand Yelgrun a little better, the fourth and final symptom catches up to her husband. And Yelgrun had leaped from his side of the table, scurrying around to join them.

"I don't even have to ask," he said, bluntly and shocked at the same time. He looked back up at Annora. "Are you going to have him taken to the infirmary?"

She shook her head. "I'm taking him back to our quarters; I don't want him alone in med bay until the baby comes. Odo!" she shouted, and the constable was rushing in, along with Weyoun and the deputies behind him. "Weyoun, he's experiencing the final symptom!" Her mind touched with Keevan's as she felt his numbness and weakness as he began the final part in his term. He needed her more than ever; he was there for her when she was pregnant, and she would continue what she was doing for him in return. _I'm still here; don't worry._

"Odo to Dr. Bashir! Doctor, we need your team to security!"

"Keevan, you're going to be...fine," Yelgrun said, unsure of what else to say from what Annora could tell. "We're here for you." Weyoun had come down to join when he spoke, placing a protective hand over Keevan's forehead, feeling the sweat forming that Annora saw shining. She held Keevan's hand in both of hers, bringing it up to kiss it while locking eyes with Yelgrun.

The other Vorta returned the eye lock with hooded eyes, searching her in the same way he did on Empok Nor. She remembered Keevan's fear when he heard the other Vorta's voice when he called for Quark on Empok Nor as they were all hiding, the smugness when Yelgrun was ready to take Keevan back to face punishment and execution - and everything Keevan told her that almost happened to him at Yelgrun's hand - Yelgrun calling Keevan nothing and a failure to their kind, thinking Keevan would die alone like he would have, so it was a shocker to know Yelgrun had a wife now. It made Annora wonder how she, whoever she was and whatever she was like, would put up with a man like Yelgrun.

Keevan was taken immediately to their quarters, with Julian performing the examination and asking her to help him make Keevan comfortable, which she was happy to do. By then he had lost the feeling in his arms; the cut-off happened so fast. It made her wonder if Keevan was still hungry; their dinner needed to be reheated. "I am, now that you asked," Keevan replied, eyes twinkling before it stopped. "But that symptom is just about finished now that I am enduring one more." He groaned then as he leaned his head back; he'd felt so bloated during the last month, even more with the baby growing stronger in his womb, now that she could mention it to herself. Their child was strong, gave him no rest in the last three months.

"Perhaps any day now," Julian said as he was finishing running his tricorder, a smile tugging but not succeeding. "The baby is doing fine, but chances are it might come sooner before the month is over. It's only a guess; you never know," he added with a small smile finally. "Either way, not long now. Are the both of you excited?"

Both Annora and Keevan laughed. They were, but now that it was finally happening, they were both nervous. The nursery had been set up with help from the rest of the family, and the joy was compared to when Mia was still expecting Riona. But at the time, the father hadn't been present; now the _whole_ family was expecting the new addition. They were all happy during a bloody wartime.

Keevan suddenly claimed to be tired, so she left him to rest in their room, right after Julian and the team left; Julian even prescribed Keevan with makara herbs which was common in Bajoran maternity treatment, but Mia and Kira hated them because of the taste, though Keevan couldn't taste them and didn't object. Odo and Weyoun left, too, after Odo agreed to have Keevan on leave until the baby was born. He was more reasonable than Annora expected, but she never took him to do such a thing as easily. More easier than another employer would for their workers. Odo had looked at her and smiled, telling her that her husband would need all the attention he needed. Even Major Kira had stopped by to check up on them, commenting on how this was like when she was surrogate for the O'Briens' youngest, only this was a baby Keevan would keep unlike Nerys.

Nerys was also baby Riona's godmother; she and Odo were lovers and expecting a child of their own, too, in five more months - one month longer than Vorta gestation periods - only this child was donated by another with help from Dr. Bashir. That made Odo the godfather; Mia had appointed them so because it was the least she could do for them after Nerys gave Kirayoshi up to his family and Odo lost a baby Changeling at the same time. It was a heartbreaking story when Annora learned of this.

Her latest story was the start of a collection of shorts inspired by recent war events, including with what happened at the Cardassian border. But before she could sit down at the makeshift desk and pick up where she left off, the doors were buzzed once more. Sighing, she stood up and called, "Come in." The doors slid open, and in strolled a startling face she didn't expect. She put her PADD down and rose. "Yelgrun, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I clearly have nothing to do other than stop by and see you - and Keevan, if he's up to this," he answered simply, smiling to one corner of his mouth.

"Keevan's asleep," Annora said, seating herself back down. "But please, keep your voice down. You know what it's like to have...sensitive ears." She winked at him, and he laughed, but it was brief and only half humorous. He didn't seem to have a sense of humor, or even if he did, it might as well be a strange one. She'd seen so on Empok Nor.

"You're no secret to the ways of the Vorta," he noted as he himself seated before her. "Keevan's let you in all of our secrets?"

Before she could answer, she remembered her manners. "Before I answer that, would you like something like refreshments?" she asked. He looked surprised at the gesture, but he nodded. She rose and walked over to the cooling unit to pull out the leftover hasperats and placed them into the heater beside it. "Two root beers, please," she said to the replicator, and the tall dark amber beverages shimmered into being. "You ever had anything like a root beer, Yelgrun?"

"I'm not familiar. It doesn't sound like anything from anywhere in the Gamma Quadrant or the Cardassian territory. Is it Terran?"

"Yes," she answered with a smile, bringing the drinks over and giving him his. "A favorite of mine, and some of my friends and colleagues. Although I can't say _everyone_ prizes it. Keevan and Weyoun can even taste and savor it, surprisingly."

Annora watched as he brought it to his lips for a little sip, smacking his lips lightly before nodding appraisal. "I wish I had the right words. That makes me the third to know." He paused to look back up at her. "You made Keevan happy when I wasn't lucky."

"We made each other happy," she corrected him, eyeing him closely and voicing the one question on her mind that she had to know. "Tell me something: why did you have these...feelings for Keevan in the first place? If it's not too touchy a subject for you," she added, raising a hand as a gesture of no offense at the displeased look he gave her. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"Keevan was not like the others I worked with. In fact, he was newly cloned, still new to the Dominion ranks. He was just like us all in the tricks-up-the-sleeve department, as well as coming up with methods of his own neither of us would, which made me envy him a little. The Founders looked at him with great pride even though they didn't truly care about him - I wasn't a fool to think they did for any of us, but all I had to do was follow orders as we all had to. We were Vorta, made to serve and honor the Founders as the Jem'Hadar would fight and die for them. That was, and I quote, 'the order of things. Obedience brings victory...'"

"And victory is life," Annora finished for him. He looked surprised, raised an eyebrow at her. "I learned that while on that planet with Keevan and his Jem'Hadar...but I can't say I agreed with it all."

Yelgrun nodded. "Like giving your own life up for the Dominion? Setting up your own Jem'Hadar against Captain Sisko's unit?"

"The supply of white was down to two; they would have gone mad and slaughtered us all if Keevan hadn't done what he did. And he kept himself alive because of me. I'd pulled him out of the ship when it crashed, kept him alive the best I could even though I wasn't a doctor, and we began to..." She trailed off, unsure of the right word for a eloquently spoken creature like a Vorta. "We just had something. It happened, and we were meant to be."

"Hmm." His lips pursed, and a small smirk showed. "Would it be terrifying for you to know, then, the depth of Keevan and I before you came along?"

She held herself and braced herself, this being the sign of a yes to him. "We were just friends when he was assigned to me so I could teach him, and I was actually proud of him, but I must confess I'm not the most patient of Vorta - in fact, my tolerance level is low enough to be zero. One of the many things I wasn't exactly liked by everyone despite my record. The same went for the Founders, though they kept my line going. But all of that is beside the point. Back to Keevan and I.

"Despite our friendship, a short amount of time as it was, I began to...dream about Keevan. Not only dream and wake up at night or in the morning burning, but I never stopped thinking about him." Now that she heard that, now she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear this again, not since Empok Nor, and Yelgrun noticed this. "I see I'm making you uncomfortable with this." He snorted and shook his head. "No matter; you have to hear anyway. I thought Keevan would have at least grown attracted to me as I was to him, given he was the first one I ever felt accepted and had someone to always talk to, but once I confessed my feelings, he just...I can't describe what happened, but the way I know I responded shattered it all. I remember kissing Keevan for the first time, how sweet and soft - you know that yourself - but it shoved him away from me. I have never been so hurt and betrayed by anyone, and I was convinced I would never love anyone again after that." He stopped right there, sighing and staring down at the root beer in front of him, his face giving away that he was lost in his own mind, and Annora realized she hadn't been thinking about anything other than listening and understanding the depth of the hostility between him and her husband.

"You got a wife now. I'm sure she gives you the love you deserve," she offered, and he looked up at her with a small smile.

"You'll never believe the story behind that one - but yes, you're more than right on that."

"She's the reason you no longer support the Dominion." Tied with her and Keevan's story, as well as Mia's and Weyoun's. Again, Yelgrun nodded.

"And I know you're wondering why they sent me to get your husband. The Founders said it was because I was the man for the job, but I knew better: to mock me because of my past with him. That was all it was, to laugh at me, and him."

~o~

Yelgrun being on the bridge of Deep Space 9 was even higher than Weyoun anticipated, but he didn't envy him. He ought to have been, because he was just a security aide, but he wasn't. Serving and helping Odo run the station orderly made him content enough. He'd have thought Yelgrun would sneer at him that now Weyoun was no longer above his station, but nothing mattered anymore. No matter how many times he would repeat it to himself.

There were numerous times in the two weeks to follow that he accompanied Odo to the bridge to give the status to Captain Sisko and the rest of the crew, and he would occasionally make eye contact with Yelgrun, who was always working alongside Chief O'Brien and Worf, sometimes with Dax. Everyone cooperated, his impatience under control unless it had to do with an amount of time given to wait, which was the only complaint the crew had with Yelgrun. Weyoun even found the opportunity to sneak away from Odo while he paused to exchanged a few words with his lover, Kira, to speak to Benjamin about the new member of the team.

"Oh, he's everything that he said he was: hard-working, like you and your friend, finishes quick, cooperates well with the rest of the staff - but the only objection is that temperamental level of his in regards to waiting time." He scoffed and shook his head. "I think he's competent enough, third Vorta to be on my station and proving himself so far. I've tolerated everyone who comes aboard to work for me, but I don't know about Yelgrun. Unless you know how to fix this with him for me, Weyoun."

He wasn't surprised that he was asked to do this. "I will, but it will not be easy, Benjamin. Yelgrun has never been the easiest to work with in the Dominion, and nothing has changed here," he noted, which did not sway the captain.

"Do it however you can. Just see to it that he starts showing more respect over the littlest of things that we function around here, and outside this station. We all have enough on our hands to worry about than dealing with his explosion of vocabulary."

Weyoun nodded and turned to leave Ops, joining Odo at the turbolift. "What did he want with you?"

"It's about Yelgrun," Weyoun answered simply, clasping his hands behind his back. "He's getting on everyone's nerves, rattling their cages. He's repeating the past and doesn't realize it." He shook his head and laughed to himself; Yelgrun had been here for two weeks and was stirring the trouble he did in the Dominion. Some people never changed - but Sisko asked him, _Weyoun_ , to do this as a favor to all of them. If Yelgrun really wanted to prove his newfound loyalty to the Federation, he had to start acting like it and properly. It was like trying to teach a child manners, something Weyoun would end up doing to his daughter one day.

"Hmm. Are you sure you can manage him?"

"Oh, please, of course I can. I've handled Yelgrun before even when I didn't like it - actually, my predecessors. The point is, I know just what to do this time around...and Riona will be the link to the thread." He turned to face Odo fully and smiled. That had been the plan all along; to have Yelgrun be closer to Weyoun's family. Yelgrun had not had the opportunity to socialize around Mia and the baby, but he was never patient with little ones either. Well, Weyoun would teach him to.

Odo shook his head. "He doesn't seem like he will take Riona very well, and if I so much as allowed him near me and Nerys' when it comes, that will be the last," he promised, laughing now. "I wouldn't be surprised if he and his wife are having issues with this. If he doesn't want children, or if they both simply don't want to."

Weyoun shrugged. Who knew. If he knew Yelgrun better than that, he would say the other Vorta would not want children period. Perhaps he could change that.

~o~

Riona had awoken them in the middle of the night, crying from a bad dream. Groggily, Mia slipped on her lavender satin robe and entered the nursery, the baby stopping upon sensing her mother was coming. She picked her little girl up and held her close, rocking her up and down so Riona grunted with each movement. "There, there, Mama's here," Mia cooed as she looked into little lavender eyes, a smile brightening up the round little face.

"She's not hungry again, is she?" Weyoun asked as he followed, wrapping his gray robe around himself. She sat down on the sofa, still rocking Riona, and shook her head. That was only two nights ago; Riona was always hungry for such a little thing, and it was funny. Her proud grandpa had called her that himself, and Kasidy never got enough of spooning up the mushed fruits Ben made for the baby. Sometimes Jake had trouble getting the baby to stop crying; he would succeed by dropping one of her toys or more to the floor in front of her, making her laugh hysterically.

The rest of the crew had their ways of entertaining Riona, too. Since Miles had two children, he let Molly and little Kirayoshi play with her, and Julian just loved to sing nursery songs to her when Mia brought her daughter in for a check-up. Nerys and Jadzia sometimes had her at work, although Worf was still learning how to handle an infant especially with what happened with baby Kirayoshi once.

Annora and Keevan were now called aunt and uncle even if not blood-related. Mia loved having everyone together and it would be so - but she wasn't sure about Yelgrun, from what she heard about him from her husband. Weyoun looked at her knowingly. "He's coming tomorrow."

"And I still don't know about this," she argued softly, noticing that Riona was beginning to fall asleep. "He has no patience, so I don't know if I can tolerate his yelling at our daughter. She's just a baby."

"And he won't, not if I have anything to say about it," he promised, pulling them both close. "I'll make sure that he keeps that attitude of his down."

He'd better, because if anything went wrong and Yelgrun hurt their daughter in any way, she would kick him out of their home and send him back into his quarters. Weyoun saw this and leaned to kiss her brow. "I'll make sure he stays as far away from you as possible, if that makes you feel better."

Mia sighed; that did make her feel better, but it wouldn't last.

At the end of the day, Yelgrun arrived, but he didn't smile much. When she greeted him, he just nodded and then his attention fell to Riona in his arms, not giving much of a reaction other than both eyebrows raised. Her patience failed but keeping her composure because her daughter was in her arms, Mia stepped up and lifted her chin at him. "Yelgrun, just so we are clear: if you so much as lay a hand on our baby, then I'll grab both your ears and grasp so hard until they bleed. Is that understood?"

He looked amused at her threat. "Very much."

"Come now, no fighting on the first day," Weyoun said, standing in the middle of them. "Let's all just start by having a nice dinner that my wife made for us all. Would you like that, Yelgrun?" The other Vorta nodded in agreement, but he didn't take his eyes off Mia, keeping a good eye on her and telling her that he didn't like being here any more than she did. She huffed to herself; this was _her_ home, and he was staying here only because her father said their family was his hope of learning patience and socialism.

Yelgrun didn't seem to be a very conversational person, answering when spoken to, and speaking only when he _did_ have something to say. When the baby started grunting for more food, he watched as her mother fed her without a word; Mia didn't look at him as she did, but she could feel his eyes on her, watching with utter fascination that she took raising an inexperienced little one with Weyoun. He had no experience with children; his wife probably wanted them and he didn't, so Mia couldn't say she blamed her.

"Yelgrun, tell me something," Mia said calmly after Riona was finished, "how did your wife feel about having children?" She wasn't afraid of his wrath, but if he so much as lashed out in front of Riona, he would get more than just injury to the ears.

"Infertile," he answered simply, and partly...grieving? "She confessed to me that she was forced onto when she was younger, so she's unable to bear children."

Mia felt like she'd been smacked in the face. She'd mentally accused him of being heartless and child-hating, but now... She was interrupted from her thinking when Riona started crying. She didn't understand what rape was - now she was grieving for Yelgrun's poor wife, berating herself for jumping into her thoughts - but she sensed the tension and sorrow in the air, but her cries made Yelgrun snap.

"Does she ever get tired of wailing, Weyoun?" he asked irritably. "Like, would I have to be doing this for you while I'm here?"

 _Let me handle him,_ Weyoun assured her, calming her down before speaking angrily. "Yelgrun, she's just a baby. She can't help anything she does, so if you want to keep yourself here on the station, you're staying in my home until you learn how to be humble and more respectful, learn to love more, I can go on forever. So, as a start, I believe you doing the honors of getting our daughter to stop crying will suffice."

For a moment, Mia almost objected because she didn't trust Yelgrun to not drop her, but the sooner Riona was picked up from her high chair and into her father's arms, he placed her into Yelgrun's, showing him how to hold her. "Now, you rock her and sing her a lullaby. I'll do the honors of that..."

The sooner he started to hum - a tune he learned from Mia and Julian, and was learning so well - Yelgrun picked up as well as continued to rock Riona, she began to calm down and looked up at the strange man holding her, hiccupping and reaching for him. Yelgrun seemed to be oblivious to himself as he reached and let one of his fingers be taken into her little hands.

At the simple act from the baby, Yelgrun's face finally broke into a grin.

~o~

When a Vorta is about to give birth, the first thing they felt was a tightening in the groin area, and not a pleasant one, but it faded eventually within five minutes. Next was the baby stirring uncontrollably, having more awareness than a human infant or any other species in the galaxy, and Keevan knew today was the day.

It was barely three weeks, and the baby was coming.

He had awoken in the morning and felt it then; Annora had been asleep beside him when it happened. He'd reached over and shook her awake. She'd rolled over to face him, still sleepy and trying to wake, as it was approaching seven hundred hours. "Annora, it's time," he'd said, trying to sit up and grimacing when the weight domineered his control. _The day has arrived._

She'd bolted up then, shouting to the computer, for Bashir and the medical team to come fast, and within moments, they'd arrived at their quarters with the equipment and setting it up, instruments and all. "It happened so fast, like I predicted!" Bashir exclaimed as he helped Annora get Keevan comfortable.

He leaned back against the pillows, sighing and releasing an occasional exhale of breaths, trying to relax himself as Julian insisted. Ironic, wasn't it? He was dying on that planet, Annora treating him but it was Julian Bashir who saved his life in the end. Now he was helping with their baby; Keevan had come to trust him as a friend, over the period of the last barely four months. He looked down at himself, seeing that he was wearing the long white gown of a patient that Nurse Jabara and Annora both helped him into, his huge belly weighing him down, where he felt the baby was moving and more than eager to come into the world. This was what Annora would have felt if she'd carried it to full term, or even sooner. Exhaling again, Keevan closed his eyes.

"How are you feeling?" Bashir asked.

"Relaxed," Keevan answered, eyes still closed and inhaling through his nose, sensing Annora beside him the entire time, on her side of the bed and not moving much for his sake and at the insistence of the doctor if she wanted to remain by his side. "No pain."

"Yet," Julian corrected as he ran the tricorder. "I estimate in a mere ten minutes, perhaps longer, but it appears we're not meant to expect it. Your muscle contractions have ceased momentarily."

And a relief. Keevan looked over to Annora and smiled at her, seeing her smile back. _Our child is coming,_ she sent to him. _Not much longer, like we keep saying._

And then it happened, as Julian said, without warning. The pain clenched in his abdomen, sharp and sudden like a knife piercing him in that same spot. Keevan barely stifled his scream when he lurched halfway up, but Annora helped him down as Julian and Nurse Jabara were instantly down where his legs were spread and allowed access for the child to come. Normally, Vorta births took up to three hours, even longer than a Bajoran woman, but Keevan prayed with his wife that it would end sooner.

Unfortunately, his wish was not granted, for in the last three hours precisely, he endured endless lashes of agony in his body, his muscles twisting and loosening only to repeat the ritual, his throat sore with so much screaming. Even his perfect hearing could not make out his own words, though he could have sworn he was letting loose curse words in his native language, howling that the "little thing is _tearing me apart!_ " Everyone laughed at the last one, but the reality was it was not the least bit funny.

The flesh rips weren't the worst; there came the blood he feared. Oh, he could feel it hot and sticky between his legs as the baby fought its way through the tight canals of his inner muscles, spilling onto the bed and barely onto the floor. Tears fell down Keevan's cheeks as he felt himself growing weaker and weaker, unsure of how much longer he could take this...

And then he heard the cries. Shrill and wailing to his ears, piercing less than his own cries of torture were.

"It's done, Keevan! It's done!" Julian was saying over and over as he picked up a blanket and wrapped it over the baby to pick up and hold it for his parents to see. Annora was crying, but Keevan could have sworn he was doing it more than she was. "It's a boy."

The grunting and crying little thing was placed in Keevan's arms. He wanted to reach up and wipe his eyes away, but Annora read his mind and wiped them away for him - and then he saw _their_ son for the first time. _By the gods, he's_ remarkable!

 _He's beautiful._

The baby was still covered in blood, but the skin beneath was matching Annora's soft palette, the hair was dark with soft tufts - and the _ears_...so he was right along. This WAS his child. To think he had his doubts, and so did Annora, but it was theirs all along. "Doctor, it's our son. He's so beautiful," Keevan whispered, looking at the soft face and watching as the eyes blinked and tried to remain open so he could see his family for the first time - and those brief moments were enough for Keevan to see _his_ eyes. He leaned into his and Annora's son, letting more tears come which came in greater floods when Annora kissed his forehead.

 _You did great. You're both alive, like I promised you would be._

 _I love you, Annora,_ he returned, accepting a kiss from her.

 _You, too. What should we name our son?_

He didn't know why, but the name he came up with just now was perfect, for it was the shortened and slightly spelled different version of his own. _Kei. We'll call him Kei. It means blessed. As I'm blessed to be alive and to have you both._

~o~

The news broke fast throughout the crew, from the bridge to Quark's bar and anyone else who knew: Keevan and Annora welcomed a son.

Weyoun could not have been more happier as he and his family as well as the rest of the crew rushed to their quarters to pay them a visit just as Dr. Bashir and the rest of his team were cleaning up and helping the patient and the baby after birth. Keevan had lost a lot of blood as expected, but he would live. The child himself was doing well, too, and he was named Kei. Mother and father couldn't have picked a better name than that.

Now everyone stood before the family as the beautiful half Vorta, half human boy was held between his mother and father, just like Riona had been not that long ago. Weyoun felt his heart melt at the wonderful sight, his arm around Mia's waist as he drew her closer, their daughter in her embrace, Benjamin and his lover Kasidy, Jake, O'Brien, Dax and Worf, Quark and the family, and finally Odo and Nerys all present and fighting to hold their emotions in check. Including Yelgrun himself as he began to learn what it was like to have a child and hold, thanks to the last week in Weyoun's home.

Sadly, the moment was interrupted when Sisko was beeped. _"Ops to Captain Sisko."_

He sighed in disappointment at the interruption. "Go ahead."

 _"Sir, a Cardassian fighter is approaching us. The lone individual claims to have escaped from Cardassia Prime and the Dominion and seeks protection."_

 **So I'm sad that this story is done, as I was with Weyoun and Mia, but all stories must come to an end. There's one more in the trilogy, but first comes "The Perfumed Garden", a new Weyoun fic not related, but it's the story of him and Kilana, the Vorta from season 5's "The Ship".**

 **The name for Keevan and Annora's son is a Japanese name meaning blessed and lucky, and shortened after his father was nothing short of perfect. :) I must confess Yelgrun is slowly becoming easy, but he's also a tough one to break from his impatience personality. "Chosen for the Marriage Bed" will show how his wife tolerates him, how they first met, and a variety of intense events before the war and during. Their relationship will definitely be different from Weyoun and Mia as well as Keevan and Annora. How this story ended is what will continue during the next.**

 **I thank everyone who has been on this ride with me all this time. :) Hopefully more to come.**


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